Nicole Garcia and Ana Pelaez Trivino of Spain share the lead on seven-under-par heading into the final round of the Ladies European Tour’s Helsingborg Open in Sweden after the pair fired matching rounds of three-under-par 69 in warm and benign conditions at Allerum Golf Club on Saturday.

Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall, who held a three-way share of the lead after the first round, shot a 70 to end the day one stroke behind in a share of third position with compatriot Lisa Pettersson and another South African, Casandra Alexander.

Garcia fired the first hole-in-one of the tournament during an eventful morning round, which featured two eagles, three birdies and four bogeys.

The South African aced the 172-yard par-three third hole using a majestic eight-iron, moments before Finland’s Elina Numenpaa made another hole-in-one on the par-three 14^th.

Garcia made the turn in 36 after carding a birdie on the long fifth and three bogeys on the fourth, sixth and ninth. She steadied herself with two consecutive pars from the 10^th and then eagled the 512-yard par-five 12^th hole. Two further birdies on the 16^th and 18^th holes, along with a bogey on the 17^th, saw her return in 33.

She said afterwards that she had to wait for a few moments to celebrate her hole-in-one, as she couldn’t see if the ball had ended up in the hole.

“We weren’t 100 percent sure if it was in or not, so didn’t want to get too excited. Then there were a few fist pumps, a little bit of screaming, so it was good,” said Garcia, who has now had four holes-in-one in competition, including two on the LET, one on the LET Access Series and one on the Sunshine Ladies Tour.

Speaking about her second eagle of the day on the 12^th, she added: “I’m quite fond of that par-five. It suits my eye and I’ve managed to hit the green on it two days in a row, giving myself opportunities. I hit it to 15-20 feet and hit an aggressive putt.”

Garcia, ranked 29^th on the Race to Costa del Sol, enjoyed two team wins in Aramco Team Series events last year, in London and Jeddah, but the three-time Sunshine Ladies Tour champion is yet to notch an individual title in 10 years of competing on the LET.

She added: “An individual win is something really special. I love the team vibe and I’m quite good in that environment, so I really enjoy those, but to have an individual win, as I haven’t had one on the LET yet, would be incredible for me. Hold thumbs and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

Alexander’s second round of four-under-par 68 included five birdies and a bogey, and she is very much in the hunt for what would be a maiden LET win for her, too.