Sara Byrne chasing fairytale win in Morocco
Rookie Sara Byrne admitted winning the Lalla Meryem Cup in her first start since earning her Ladies European Tour card would “mean the world” to her after she carded a four-under 69 to go into the final round just a shot off the lead in Morocco.
After following a birdie at the second with a bogey at the fifth, the Douglas dynamo (23) raced into the lead on the Blue Course at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam , reeling off birdies the sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th, 13th and 15th to get to eight-under.
Bogeys at the last two holes left her tied for second with Spain’s Nuria Iturrioz and Germany’s Helen Briem, meaning she will go out in the penultimate group today.
But she’s just one stroke behind Singapore’s Shannon Tan, who shot 69 to lead on nine-under-par and she’s dreaming big.
“It would be a dream to win tomorrow, something that every girl can dream of winning after watching it growing up,” said Byrne, who had a comfortable draw alongside compatriot Olivia Mehaffey and England’s Megan Dennis for the first two days
“Obviously, I can't get too far ahead of myself but it would mean the world to anybody out here.”
Caddie Mark Raven, who worked for Lottie Woad when Byrne helped Great Britain and Ireland win the Curtis Cup last summer, has been a calming influence and the Cork star will be hoping to reproduce the stunning form she showed at Sunningdale.
“It’s been a good day, it’s always great being in contention coming into the final day, especially as a rookie,” she said. “I honestly just played really solid today, putted well, and it’s always a nice day when you have seven birdies on the card.
“I’ve just been loving the week. I missed competing over the break a little bit and so to have this as the first event with the senior tour as well, it’s pretty cool.
“It felt a little bit of home from home with Olivia and I, so I’m just taking it all in and it’s good to be back.”
All five Irishwomen made the cut with Lauren Walsh tied 21st on two-under after a 69, Anna Foster and Mehaffey 44th on two-over after respective rounds of 78 and 73 and Annabel Wilson 53rd on three-over after a 74.
In the concurrent Trophy Hassan II on the PGA Tour Cchampions, Pádraig Harrington bogeyed the 16th and 18th on the Red Course and carded a one-over 74 to go into the final round seven shots behind co-leaders Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Steven Alker tied for 24th on level par
At the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, Conor Purcell shot a level par 72 to make the one-under par cut on the mark but he’s nine shots behind Enland’s Brandon Robinson Thompson, whose 68 gave him a two-shot lead over MK Kim and China’s Hoatong Li and Wenyi Ding, who shot 67s.
On the HotelPlanner Tour, Liam Nolan’s magical run of form ended when he shot a three-over 75 to miss the two-under cut by two shots in the Cell C Cape Town Open where Jonathan Caldwell made it on the mark after a 70.
Meanwhile, Tiger Woods will make just his first appearance on tour since last July’s Open Championship at Royal Troon after committing yesterday to next week’s Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines.
