Mexico’s Fernanda Lira carded rounds of 69 and 70 to finish two strokes clear of the rest of the field ahead of tomorrow’s final day at the Islantilla Open.
It was a steady day for the 30-year-old who carded four birdies and two bogeys at DoubleTree by Hilton Islantilla Golf Resort to take the lead.
Speaking about her round, Lira said: “Today was good. I was just trying to keep it simple.
“I felt calm out there as the results are out of my control and I just really wanted to try and have fun and enjoy having my husband being here.”
Lira has her husband Ryan Shuttleworth on the bag who she credits with helping her stay calm out there.
“Ryan helps me a lot. He’s good with the wind and reading putts so I think those are two key elements in playing good on this golf course. Having him on the bag helps so much.”
Lira moved from the Epson Tour to the LET last season after earning a card at the 2023 Lalla Aicha Qualifying school.
The Mexican also fired a course record at Al Maaden with a total of 11-under-par and more recently dominated this year’s AIG Women’s Open Pre-Qualifying at Delamere Forest.
“Previous times I have got ahead of myself and I’m trying this time to not to. Tomorrow is a totally different day and I’m going to be in a totally different mindset.
“There’s no point in wasting energy in thinking about the past, so I’ll just tee off and take it from there.”
LETAS has already had a Mexican win this season when Lira’s compatriot Alejandra Llaneza clinched victory at the Santander Golf Tour-Avila.
Proud to represent the Mexican flag, Lira’s hoping to follow in the footsteps of her friend.
“It would be awesome. It would be cool because she was there when I won on Epson and then I was there when she won. I told her you know now you’ve won on LETAS it is my turn.”
Accompanying Lira in the final group is England’s Jessica Hall who carded a round of 71(-3) to finish in outright second.
The 26-year-old fired four birdies and one bogey but a double bogey on the tricky par five seventh hole set the Durham based player back two shots.
Speaking about her round, Hall said: “It was tough today with the wind, but we played steady.
“I think this course suits my game as you don’t need to be the longest hitter. You do need to be accurate, however.”
Hall resides in the north of England, so this week’s temperature is a far cry from her usual playing climate.
“It’s very different to what I’m used to, but we are getting used to it and I’m enjoying being by the pool every day. It’s nice to chill out and cool down after golf.”
Hall turned professional a few weeks ago at the Swedish Strokeplay Championship but is no stranger to being in the final group having already made six top 10 finishes on LETAS as an amateur.
Hall holds the LETAS record for finishing as the top amateur the greatest number of events at five times.
“Turning professional doesn’t feel that different. I’ve had loads of lovely comments and support, so it was great.
“The amateur events had finished, and I just felt like now was the right time as I’ve been close a couple of times.”
Hall is excited to be in contention once again and enjoys the chase.
“I’d much rather chase from behind. It’s good to put pressure on as people start.
“I aim to stick to my plan and do my best, we will see what happens.”
Four players are tied for third on two-under-par including Scotland’s Laura Beveridge, Norway’s Madelene Stavnar, France’s Chloe Salort and Switzerland’s Tiffany Arafil
Meanwhile Czechia’s Patricie Mackova finished seventh on one-under-par.
53 players made the cut which stood at +6.
The final round begins at 9:00 local time with the leaders going out at 10:35.
To follow all the action from the tournament visit letaccess.com and follow @LETAccess on Facebook, Instagram and X – #Access2LET.
