“I stayed super patient and kept grinding it out and finally, a few dropped towards the end which was great to see. Especially the last five holes, just being able to bring that momentum into tomorrow will be great.
“My short game in general was good, I had to do a bit of work today. I give a lot of credit to my scrambling, it’s quite an intimidating course to play in comparison to Al Maaden, so really trying to plot your way around is the main focus.
“All I was trying to do was fairway, green, two-putt, next hole. To make a few birdies was a bonus.”
Mehaffey needed a low fourth round to make the top 65 and ties who qualified for the final day but a one-over 73 at Royal Golf left her 108th on seven-over.
Meanwhile, Conor Purcell was 80th after opening with a two-over 74 with Gary Hurley 135th after carding a 78 in the DP World Tour’s AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at a windy Mont Choisy Le Golf.
Just five weeks after losing his card, England’s Eddie Pepperell birdied four of his last five holes to shoot 66 and lead by one from Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen.