Linda Henriksson
Germany’s Karolin Lampert fired a four under par 68 on the Amelkis Course to keep her lead over Indian amateur Aditi Ashok heading into the last round of Lalla Aicha Tour School Final Qualifying in Marrakech, Morocco, as 67 players made the 72-hole cut at two over par.
At the head of affairs on 22 under par, Lampert is one stroke ahead of Ashok, who also shot 68 on the Amelkis Course. Denmark’s Daisy Nielsen, who was playing in the same group, shot a 69 to lie in third on 14 under par.
“Just like the other days I didn’t make many mistakes and hit a lot of greens,” said Lampert, 20, who birdied the second and bogeyed the third before picking up four shots on the back nine at Amelkis. “The front nine I was a little bit unlucky and had a lot of lip outs so was just level par. I kept focused and hit some great shots to the pins so managed to make some birdies.”
Ashok held her composure showing maturity well beyond her 17 years to keep up with the leader. She made the turn in two under with birdies on the third and seventh and took a bogey on 10 before adding three more birdies on holes 11, 12 and 18.
The high school student from Bangalore said: “It was pretty good and consistent. I saved a few good pars and especially on the front nine. The only dropped shot was on 10, where I didn’t hit a good tee shot so I could have kept myself more in play on that hole. I kept myself more in play on that hole, so that was good. I missed quite a few birdies towards the end, on 16, 17 and 18. On 18 I missed an eagle, so three short putts and I could have probably made one or two of those and had a better score but four under, I’m happy with that.”
Nuria Iturrios from Spain moved into fourth place with a 66 on the Samanah Course, followed by Emily Talley of the United States in fifth and Scotland’s Kelsey MacDonald in sixth. English pair Annabel Dimmock and Rosie Davies lie in seventh and eighth spot respectively, with Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh, Caroline Rominger of Switzerland, Oona Vartiainen of Finland and Justine Dreher from France tied for ninth.
With a course record equalling eight under par 64, Linda Henriksson of Finland climbed 57 places on the leaderboard into a share of 14th place on three under par.
The 26-year-old, originally from Lapland, said: “I had a 66 here a few years ago when the first nine was different. This 64 is my best ever round. I was making everything. I even made a 66 metre shot on the 12th hole using my 58 degree wedge and a lot of good putts.
“I knew that I had to play well and I haven’t been making any putts the whole week so I knew that they would come at some point, but not all at once.”
After the 72-hole cut, the fifth and final round, to decide the playing categories for 2016, will be played at Samanah Golf Club on Tuesday. The top 30 and ties will earn Membership in Category 8, while those who make the cut and finish in positions 31 and below will be eligible for Membership in Category 9b.
