Leona Maguire remained on track for a wire-to-wire win when she carded a one-under 72 to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Aramco Team Series Presented by PIF – London.
Seeking her first win on the Ladies European Tour, the two-time LPGA Tour winner leads on eight-under-par from her Solheim Cup teammate Georgia Hall at the Centurion Club after she made three birdies in strong winds, with two of them coming on her back nine.
“Yeah, it’s really windy out there,” Maguire said. “It’s probably two, three-shot winds in places. “It’s playing a little bit linksy. The course is running out, getting firm and fast, and the wind is quite strong.
“It was swirling in places, so you just try to hit a few punchy shots that I probably haven’t used in a while. It’s definitely a welcome back to European golf. It’s a good test and I enjoyed it.”
The team competition is set for a play-off finale between Team Hall and Team Nadaud this morning after they finished a shot ahead of Team Maguire on 24-under.
Castlewarden’s Lauren Walsh continued her strong run of form and shot a two-over 75 to move up 16 spots to joint 25th on two-over and make the cut with five shots to spare.
The scoring was a lot hotter at the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic, where Hayden Springer (27) made two eagles and eight birdies to card a 12-under 59 — the second 59 recorded on the PGA Tour this year after Cam Young did it in the Travelers Championship.
Springer had missed his last six cuts before going back to his childhood coach, Rosey Bartlett, just over a week ago.
“I felt like I needed to get something going, so she was able to help me,” said Springer, who holed out from 55 yards for eagle at the 17th to get to 11-under before rolling in a 13-footer at the last for a two-shot lead over Finland’s Sami Valimaki.
Seamus Power also made a fast start in his bid for one of two places in The Open up for grabs this week, carding an eagle and five birdies in a seven-under 64 to share eighth place.
At the DP World Tour’s BMW International Open, Australia’s David Micheluzzi posted a six under par 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson, South African Casey Jarvis, Englishman Frank Kennedy and former Masters champion Patrick Reed in Munich.
“It was kind of all over the shop to be honest,” Micheluzzi said. “I was a little bit wayward with the swing early on, the putter and short game were elite today. The back nine, I gave myself some chances.”
Veteran Bernhard Langer (66) also shone in his final DP World Tour appearance, carding a one-under 71 alongside Martin Kaymer and Marcel Siem to share 54th in front of a huge gallery.