Caroline Rominger
Caroline Rominger, My Leander and Elia Folch share the lead at Lavaux, ending the day’s play on –4 for the tournament. Overnight leader Ariane Provot is lying two shots adrift after a +2 round of 74 on day two.
Swiss home-favourite Caroline Rominger backed up a strong opening round with a second consecutive two-under score of 70. The 36-year-old didn’t card a single bogey in round two and showed the same consistency that saw her finish sixth at Neuchatel a fortnight ago.
“Yesterday was a bit wet out there so it played longer than actually today. I’ve played nicely both days. Today was a bit boring, I had two birdies that’s it. A lot of chances but yeah I’m happy.”
The experienced professinal was impeccable with the driver, rarely venturing from the fairway, and recognised the importance of strong play from the tee on the Golf de Lavaux course:
“If you hit it straight off the tee you can make good scores because now it maybe seems like it’s rolling a little bit more, not too long any more. So, you can attack the pins, go straight for the pins, and then if you can make some putts… I think that’s the key!”
Joining Rominger in a share for the lead is Spain’s Elia Folch. The 28-year-old hit six birdies on her way to a stunning –4 round of 68, the lowest of the day, to climb the leaderboard into joint first position.
“I actually played really well, the same as yesterday, but just the putting – it was just great! All putts were dropping so it was nice.”
Folch was crowned champion at the Bossey Ladies Championship last year and shown signs of the form that made her so formidable at the French event in 2018. The Barcelona-born player cited an improved mindset as a key factor in enabling her to play some of the best golf of her season to date.
“It was just staying in the present and keeping on going – I didn’t really think about the result at all.”
The final player to end the day at four-under for the tournament was Sweden’s My Leander. Leander carded a three-under 69, including successive birdies on holes 4-thru-6, to keep up the pace in the title mix.
“It was a good round, I had fun. I putted well, hit many greens, barely missed any greens actually, so just very stable and consistent.”
Much like co-leader Folch, Leander was quick to highlight the reading of the greens as the key to scoring on the picturesque Swiss course. Whilst many of the players have had trouble with the pace and roll, the Stockholm resident found conditions similar to her home course and was quickly comfortable on the tricky surfaces of Lavaux.
With a three-way tie for the lead and a sizable chasing pack, Friday’s third and final round has all the signs of being a classic day’s play on the LET Access Series. As Folch and others showed, a few holed putts can change the state of play, and with twelve players within two shots of the lead the tournament is tantalisingly poised heading into the closing stages of the Lavaux Ladies Championship.
