Overnight leader Stina Resen kept her nose in front at the Flumserberg Ladies Open with a second round of 70 (-2), to take her to nine-under-par heading into the final round, one shot ahead of Finland’s Tiia Koivisto.
Starting the day three shots ahead of the chasing pack, Resen showed no sign of early nerves and quickly added to her lead with birdies on the 2nd before making four consecutive gains in a row from the 4th.
Standing on the 8th tee, the Norwegian led by as many as five shots from the chasing pack which included Sanna Nuutinen and Swiss amateur Caroline Sturdza, who had already completed their second round.
“I was a bit nervous at the start but I hit a lot of solid shots to get to five-under through seven holes then I miss hit a few shots and it was hard to come back from.”
Alluding to the four bogeys, Resen bounced back with a crucial birdie on the 18th to fire a two-under-par round of 70 and reclaim the all-important lead – the first of her career in an event of this stature.
“I got a bit tired, but I fought well and the birdie on the 18th gives me a lot of confidence, I am leaving the clubhouse with a good feeling.”
Trailing by a shot in sole second place after a sublime bogey-free 65 (-7), Finland’s Tiia Koivisto closed with three birdies to force her way into the final group as she chases her first LETAS victory.
The 26-year-old is rooming with her good friend and compatriot Sanna Nuutinen this week and just missed out on enjoying her company on the course as she is joined in the final group by 18-year-old Swiss amateur Caroline Sturdza at 9.50am.
Sturdza recently committed to Stanford University and leaves for the prestigious school next year but finds herself on the brink of an historic LETAS victory.
Her second round of 65 (-7) is the lowest of her career, matching what Resen achieved yesterday, and the young Swiss national player was confident as she looked ahead to tomorrow.
“I had a lot of fun with my Dad on the bag, I followed my gameplan and hit fairways and greens, my putter was on fire.”
She continued, “It is an honour for me to play in this type of tournament against great players and see where I stand and this is a good comparison for me to prepare myself before I go to college.”
Narrowly missing out on the final group at seven-under-par is LET player Sanna Nuutinen, who added a round of 68 (-4) to yesterday’s 69 (-3) to sit in T3.
The former LETAS graduate has been working on her game all year and despite being in the midst of a swing change, was able to make six birdies on the pristine parkland layout.
“I have been rock solid off the tee and finding the fairways on this course is the vital bit. It feels like home for me on the LETAS having played here five time before.”
Playing the last three consecutive weeks in Scotland and the Czech Republic, the 28-year-old from Helsinki admitted to working on here game this week perhaps more than she usually would in a bid to become a ‘little less results orientated and more process orientated’ but will not rest on her laurels when she tries to get over the line tomorrow.
Looking for her first victory, she said, “I want to put myself in contention as many times as possible so I am more confident playing in the final group, winning is winning, it’s really hard. One thing I learnt on Tour last year is that this is my workplace and I spend most of my time here so I try and make it as fun as possible so I’ll go out there any enjoy tomorrow.”
The cut fell at +7 with 53 players making the final round.
Follow the scores HERE
