Van Dam into Irish Open lead as Diksha slips in round three

From a Correspondent

Dromoland Castle: Anne Van Dam shot a second successive 6 under par 66 at the KPMG Women’s Irish Open on Saturday to hold a three-shot lead with one round remaining.

The Dutch star produced rounds of 69 and 66 on the first two days of competition to sit one shot behind 36-hole leader Diksha Dagar.

Sweden’s Lisa Pettersen was sole second on 112 under 204, three shots behind Van Dam.

England’s Alice Hewson and Diksha shared third place on 11-under-par after rounds of 68 (-4) and 71 (-1), respectively.

Hewson, 16^th in the 2023 Race to Costa Del Sol had a solid day in Ireland with six birdies and two bogeys on her card to move up the leaderboard.

“I’ve just been very consistent,” said the Englishwoman. “I’ve hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens and given myself a lot of opportunities.”

Tough day

Two-time LET winner Dagar, who led after the first two rounds, had a trickier day with six birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey on her scorecard.

The left-hander had recovered well from a difficult front nine that had two bogeys and a double only to drop a shot on her very final hole of the day and drop into the third-place tie.

Behind her, an eagle two and three birdies over her final four holes helped Tvesa Malik finish the day on 3 under 69 for a share of 42^nd place amongst the other Indians in action,

Vani Kapoor and Ridhima Dilawari were further down the leaderboard.

Two birdies in the first three holes gave Van Dam a good start. She then rolled in two more on holes nine and 11 before dropping her only shot of the day on hole 13.

Van Dam though was able to finish in style with three birdies in her final four holes to move to the top of the leaderboard on 15-under-par.

“That’s golf, you always grind until the last hole,” said the 27-year-old. 

“I really wanted to make that putt on 18, I put myself out of position with my drive there and all I wanted to do was give myself a chance and I did.

Clear gains

“It wasn’t my best day, but I also hit a lot of great shots. Overall, I have to be happy. Only one dropped shot today and seven birdies, there’s definitely plenty of good there.

“I’m putting really well and that’s the main thing I changed over the last couple of months is getting my confidence on the greens, especially under pressure like this. A day like today really showed it was good and I’m working on some good things. I’m excited for tomorrow.”

There is a slight sense of deja vu for the Dutch star at Dromoland Castle as she led at the 54-hole mark at the tournament in 2022.

Van Dam has been working hard on her mental game and is planning to stick to the same game plan tomorrow as she aims to secure her first LET title since 2019.

She explained: “I have been working so hard mentally, you have to let everything in the past go. I have been really good with that and I’m proving myself every day and I’m very excited for a new day tomorrow.

“If you want to win a tournament you have to play well and you have to play extremely well, I’ve learnt that as well.

Aggressive plans

“It’s not going to be given to you. I just have to stick to my game, be aggressive with my driver and put wedges in my hand and attack where I can. That’s going to be my game plan again for tomorrow.”

Sweden’s Lisa Pettersson was solo second on the leaderboard after firing a round of 5 under 67 to move to 12-under-par.

Pettersson, who won the Helsingborg Open earlier this season, had only two bogeys on her scorecard and rolled in seven birdies for her round of five-under.

“It was very solid, I didn’t realise until I finished the putt on 18 that I actually shot five-under,” said the Swede. “It was a nice surprise and great playing, I’m really happy with how I played. 

“I’ve just been hitting fairways and greens and some putts have been dropping and just staying out of trouble. I’ve posted three rounds in the 60s so I’m hoping for the same tomorrow.” 

Czechia’s Sara Kouskova produced the round of the week, firing a 64 (-8) to climb up the leaderboard.

The 2022 LET Access Series Order of Merit winner now sits in a tie for fifth place on 10-under-par alongside Australia’s Kirsten Rudgeley and Frenchwomen Anne-Lise Caudal and Emma Grechi.

Sweden’s Sara Kjellker and Annabel Dimmock of England rounded out the top ten on 9-under-par totals after rounds of 66 and 67, respectively. (courtesy let.com)

Also read: Diksha Dagar maintains midway lead at Women’s Irish Open