Walsh slips back in Tenerife Women’s Open bid

Lauren Walsh endured a frustrating day on the greens and shot a five-over 77 to go into the final round four shots off the lead in the Tenerife Women’s Open.

The Castlewarden star (24) fired rounds of 67 and 68 to claim a two-shot lead at halfway at Abama Golf.
But she bogeyed four of her first 11 holes in round three before making a double bogey six at the 15th in a 34-putt round.

The Carton House touring professional fought back with a birdie at the par-five 17th, but at four-under, she’s tied for tenth, four strokes behind the Czech Republic’s Sara Kouskova.

‘It was nice and steady today,” said Kouskova, who shot 69. “Patient, I would say. Lots of solid shots and a great save at the 18th.

“I think yesterday was tough towards the end. I struggled to keep my focus when I was finishing. So it was nice to get it going today. I’m looking forward to some rest!”

Kouskova claimed her maiden win in the Jabra Ladies Open at Evian Resort in her last start two weeks ago, but she is not getting ahead of herself in the Canaries.

“I try not to think about it [winning again],” she said. “I’m just happy that I’m hitting good shots and we’re making good decisions. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

Walsh still has a chance to record her maiden win, but with the top 12 players covered by just four strokes, it may require a low final round.

Spain’s Ana Pelaez Trivino, Singapore’s Shannon Tan and Finland’s Noora Komulainen are just a shot off the lead on seven-under-par.

Germany’s Helen Briem, Austria’s Emma Spitz, Italy’s Alessandra Fanali and New Zealand’s Amelia Garvey lie just two strokes behind, while India’s Diksha Dagar sits a shot further back on five-under-par.

Walsh rounds out the top 10, four shots behind alongside Order of Merit number one Mimi Rhodes from England and Germany’s Patricia Isabel Schmidt.

On the HotelPlanner Tour, Alex Maguire shot a one-under 70 to share 22nd on six-under heading into the final round of the Swiss Challenge in Lucerne.

He's seven strokes behind Sweden’s Tobias Jonsson, who shot 67 to lead by two shots on 13-under.

Galway’s Liam Nolan, who is eight in the rankings race for 20 cares,also shot 70 to share 50th on two-under.