Flawless Sagstrom takes charge at

Australian Ladies Classic

Coffs Harbour, New South Wales – 23 February 2019: Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom cruised to a bogey-free 68 on Saturday and takes a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Pacific Bay Resort Australian Ladies Classic – Bonville.

Sagstrom, who was six shots back after the second round, has a 54-total of six-under-par 210 at Bonville Golf Resort in Coffs Harbour.

West Australian Hannah Green, halfway leader Nuria Iturrios from Spain and Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord share second place, with Australian amateur Doey Choi a shot further back in solo fifth and Celine Herbin from France in sixth.

Sagstrom made four birdies in warm and breezy conditions to break out from the pack and put herself in prime position for a first Ladies European Tour title. The 26-year-old from Upssala dominated the Symetra Tour in 2016, winning three titles before topping the LET’s final qualifier.

As a rookie on the LET, Sagstrom represented Europe at The 2017 Solheim Cup as a captain’s pick. A solid performance this week could boost her Rolex Women’s World Ranking status and pull her into contention for an automatic selection.

“My goal today was to stay patient and make clear decisions and that’s what I did,” said Sagstrom, who spotted a wild koala sitting on a swinging branch left of the 15^th fairway during her round. “I’ve had the same game plan all week so I’ll just go out with the same attitude and hope I can roll those birdies in and win the tournament.

"I’ve had some experience of being in contention so I’ll go out tomorrow and try my best. I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself. It’s just about finding that momentum and enjoying it.”

While Sagstrom made it look easy, several players struggled in the blustery conditions. Iturrios had a horror start when she found the water off the tee and double bogeyed the first hole. She bogeyed the ninth and went to the turn in 38, but came back with a level par 37 for a 75.

Green also double bogeyed the first, but made four birdies in a 70 to bounce back into contention.

Skarpnord, on the other hand, made five birdies on the front nine, including three in a row from the second hole, but the Australian-based Norwegian who has three LET titles dropped two shots on the back nine for a 69.

Herbin also made a fast start with four consecutive birdies from the fourth hole and finished in style with a pair of birdies on 17 and 18 in a 67. She is looking to become the second French winner in Bonville following Celine Boutier’s victory in 2018.

With Swedish duo Daniela Holmqvist and Jenny Haglund tied for seventh on two-under-par and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen in ninth on one-under, there are nine players within five shots of the lead heading into the final day and five further players, including Irish rookie Leona Maguire, a stroke further back in a share of 10^th place.

The fourth round gets under way at 7.05am local time and the leaders, Sagstrom, Skarpnord and Green, tee off at 9.05am. 

SCOREBOARD

1 Madelene Sagstrom SWE 68 74 68 210 -6 F
2 Marianne Skarpnord NOR 70 72 69 211 -5 F
2 Hannah Green AUS 69 72 70 211 -5 F
2 Nuria Iturrios ESP 69 67 75 211 -5 F
5 Doey Choi AUS Am 66 74 72 212 -4 F
6 Celine Herbin FRA 71 75 67 213 -3 F
7 Daniela Holmqvist SWE 68 76 70 214 -2 F
7 Jenny Haglund SWE 69 73 72 214 -2 F
 9 Nanna Koerstz Madsen DEN 72 71 72 215 -1 F
10 Ursula Wikstrom FIN 72 76 68 216 Par F
10 Leona Maguire IRL 73 75 68 216 Par F
10 Kim Kaufman USA 72 73 71 216 Par F
10 Tonje Daffinrud NOR 71 74 71 216 Par F
10 Nicole Broch Larsen DEN 75 69 72 216 Par F
15 Munchin Keh NZL 72 75 70 217 +1 F
15 Charlotte Thomas NZL 74 71 72 217 +1 F
15 Becky Morgan WAL 71 74 72 217 +1 F
15 Linnea Strom SWE 72 70 75 217 +1 F
19 Xi Yu Lin CHN 72 76 70 218 +2 F
19 Sarah Kemp AUS 71 75 72 218 +2 F
19 Silvia Banon ESP 71 72 75 218 +2 F
22 Justine Dreher FRA 74 73 72 219 +3 F
 22 Anne Van Dam NED 71 75 73 219 +3 F
22 Krista Bakker FIN 71 75 73 219 +3 F
22 Felicity Johnson ENG 72 74 73 219 +3 F
22 Ingrid Gutierrez Nunez MEX 72 73 74 219 +3 F
22 Linda Wessberg SWE 75 75 69 219 +3 F
22 Stephanie Bunque AUS Am 73 72 74 219 +3 F
29 Esther Henseleit GER 73 74 73 220 +4 F
29 Tsai Peiying TPE 75 73 72 220 +4 F
29 Meghan Maclaren ENG 73 73 74 220 +4 F
29 Sarah Schober AUT 72 77 71 220 +4 F
29 Manon De Roey BEL 73 72 75 220 +4 F
29 Amy Boulden WAL 73 72 75 220 +4 F
35 Lynn Carlsson SWE 73 75 73 221 +5 F
35 Tahnia Ravnjak AUS 73 74 74 221 +5 F
35 Stacy Lee Bregman RSA 73 73 75 221 +5 F
35 Karolin Lampert GER 72 79 70 221 +5 F
39 Caroline Hedwall SWE 76 71 75 222 +6 F
39 Whitney Hillier AUS 69 80 73 222 +6 F
39 Yan Liu CHN 73 77 72 222 +6 F
42 Belinda Ji AUS Am 74 72 77 223 +7 F
42 Marta Sanz Barrio ESP 74 75 74 223 +7 F
42 Lina Boqvist SWE 74 76 73 223 +7 F
42 Amelia Lewis USA 76 75 72 223 +7 F
42 Camilla Lennarth SWE 72 79 72 223 +7 F
47 Julia Engstrom SWE 72 76 76 224 +8 F
47 Sock Hwee Koh SIN 71 77 76 224 +8 F
47 Diksha Dagar IND 71 77 76 224 +8 F
47 Hannah Burke ENG 71 80 73 224 +8 F
51 Sarah Nilsson SWE 71 77 77 225 +9 F
51 Tvesa Malik IND 75 74 76 225 +9 F
51 Stephanie Kyriacou AUS Am 73 76 76 22

SELECTED SCORES
226 Laura Davies (Eng) 74 75 77 (T57)
235 Carly Booth (Sco) 79 71 85 (70th)
MISSED THE CUT
152 Michele Thomson (Sco) 74 78 (T71)
154 Kelsey Macdonald (Sco) 78 76 (T100)