Lee-Anne Pace slipped to a share of 15th on Saturday when she carded a one-over-par 73 in the third round of the Ladies European Tour’s Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open De Espana at Real Club de Golf Las Brisas.
Pace made three birdies and four bogeys to drop to five-under-par for the tournament. That put her eight strokes behind the leader, Kirsten Rudgeley of Australia, who had a bogey-free 68 to maintain the lead she held at halfway. She was ahead by two from Aditi Ashok of India, who had a 68 which included a bogey and a double-bogey, and of Anne van Dam of the Netherlands, who had a brilliant bogey-free 65.
Nicole Garcia was next-best of the three South Africans in the field, with her level-par 72 keeping her at two-under-par for the tournament and in a share of 25th. Casandra Alexander battled her way to a two-over-par 74 in the third round, and was in a share of 34th on level-par.
“I’m playing pretty good golf, I’m happy with everything,” said Rudgeley, who has only made one bogey so far this week. “It’s in the right place and I’m just going to play tomorrow and take it all in. As I’m a rookie, it’s all experience to me.
“I just go out there and enjoy it and play golf. I have got my uncle on the bag so it’s nice to chat completely about something else. It takes my mind off it. All I can do is play my best, hole some putts and see what happens.
“My uncle, that’s why he is here this week, he lives not far from here and I do like Spain. It’s good fun, it reminds me of home. It’s nice to have family over here, the two little cousins and I don’t have to travel 17 hours back to Perth to go home.”
