Wenyung Keh leads by two shots with one round still to go of the Ladies Slovak Golf Open at Tale Ski Golf & Hotel Resort.
The New Zealander led at the end of day one after a round of 66 (-6) but had a steadier second day with an even-par round.
It wasn’t the best of starts for Keh on the Gray Bear course as she began with a bogey before making a double on the 11th hole.
However, she soon recovered with back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14 before rolling in a birdie at the last to still lead the tournament on six-under-par.
“It was a struggle, there was a lot of scrambling and some tough pin positions,” said Keh. “I didn’t have as many birdie opportunities as I did yesterday.
“These hills really keep you in the moment. That double bogey was one of those moments that happened out of nowhere and I tried not to lose too much focus. My birdie on 18 was a nice up-and-down and the one on 13, I chipped in from the front of the green.
“It’s nice to be in contention, I’m looking forward to it. I will stick to my own game and focus on my own shots and see what happens.”
Norway’s Tina Mazarino sits in solo second place on four-under-par after producing back-to-back rounds of 70 (-2) in Slovakia.
The 24-year-old got off to a quick start with birdies on the 11th, 14th and 16th holes before dropping a shot on 17.
Mazarino then made three birdies in a row on the 18th, first and second holes to put herself in a good position before unfortunately making a triple bogey at the par-4 sixth.
After that, the Norwegian finished her round with three pars to sign for a 70 and sit two shots behind leader Keh on four-under-par.
“It was pretty good. It was pretty steady, and I made a lot of good putts, that always helps with a good score,” said Mazarino.
“I had a triple bogey in the middle of the round, which was pretty tough, but I knew I just had to stay focussed after that. I knew I had three holes to go. I just tried to stay calm and positive into the last holes.
“The greens are pretty tough. I started the ball exactly where I wanted to every time and when I had the right line, it just went in.
“I have been struggling a bit mentally in the past, so I have been working a lot on not being too hard on myself.
“It helps a lot having my boyfriend on the bag because he tries to tell me to stay calm. I have been working on that a lot and trying to not put too much pressure on myself and take it one round at a time.
“I’m going to just try to relax and not put too much pressure on myself. You just have to be patient on this course, anything can happen. I will try and do the same thing.”
Germany’s Helen Briem, a three-time LETAS winner, and England’s Jess Baker sit in a share of third place on two-under-par.
Sweden’s Louisa Carlbom is in outright fifth place on one-under with Spain’s Maria Herraez Galvez one shot further back in sixth place.
Slovakia’s Katarina Drocarova leads the home charge in T7 on one-over-par alongside Czechia’s Tereza Kozeluhova and Finland’s Anna Backman, meanwhile nine players are in a share for 10th place.
The cut fell at +9 with 55 players making it to the final day of action in Slovakia. The final round will begin at 8 am (local time) with the leaders teeing off at 9.20 am (local time) on Saturday.
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