Stefania Croce, chasing first win
since 1992, leads in France

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Italy’s Stefania Croce maintained her overnight lead after the second round of the Vediorbis Open de France Dames today.
Croce shot rounds of 67 and 68 at Le Golf D’Arras for a halfway total of nine-under-par 135. She was six-under-par for her opening six holes after four birdies and an eagle.
"I feel good. I am playing good golf, sinking some putts but I hope to play as well and putt as well over the next two days,” said Croce, whose sole LET victory was the 1992 Ford Ladies Classic.
After birdies on the first, third and fourth holes, the 38-year-old from Como chipped in from 50 yards for eagle on the par-5 fifth hole and also birdied the next, going out in 30 strokes.
She admitted to feeling slightly nervous on the back nine and birdied the 13th but took three bogeys on holes 11, 14 and 17.
Sweden’s Nina Reis, runner-up in last week's Goteborg Masters after equalling the Ladies European Tour's lowest round with an 11-under-par 61, finished the day a shot further back after a 69.
Level par for the front nine, she picked up the pace with three birdies in a row from the 14th hole. She said: “My form is still good. I feel like everything is bumping my way so I hope it stays like this.”
Denmark’s Iben Tinning fired a hole in one in the second round. She holed out with a 54 degree wedge on the 14th to improve to five under par for the tournament after rounds of 70 and 69.
The 34-year-old from Copenhagen won a Peugeot 207 CC car for her fourth career hole in one. She previously won a gold bar for her ace at the 14th in the third round of the 2005 Evian Masters.
“What I could see was that it landed pin high but we couldn’t see anything more than that. Some of the guys screamed that it was in the hole. I’m very happy,” said the four-time Solheim Cup player.
Anne-Lise Caudal of France, currently ninth on the LET’s New Star Money List after her maiden win at the Open de Portugal, finished fourth on four-under-par, with Sweden’s Cecilia Ekelundh a shot further back in fifth.
A group of five players shared sixth position on two-under-par: French rookie Julie Greciet, South Korea’s Amy Yang, Belgium’s Lara Tadiotto and the English duo of Samantha Head and Felicity Johnson.
Head’s 66 was the lowest round of the tournament so far and lifted her from a share of 86th place overnight. “I didn’t play very well yesterday and after the round I slept for a couple of hours in the hotel here and then I hit some balls and worked on my game. It wasn’t for today, it was just for peace of mind and I just played better,” Head explained.
“I just play each day as it comes ... and I’m so full of clichés! I knew the greens would be quite bobbly this afternoon and the only thing you can do when there have been lots of people on the greens is just trust your stroke. I’m just going to do the same, trust myself and just enjoy it.
“I’m starting to realise that it doesn’t really matter what preparation you put in, if it’s your day it’s your day and today it was.”
COLIN FARQUHARSON'S SCOTSWATCH
A good day for Jenna Wilson, who beat the cut at 149 or better ... a bad day for Clare Queen and Lynn Kenny.
Clare missed out by two shots after bogeying the 16th, 17th and 18th for a 78 and 151. How galling to think that three pars instead of three bogeys would have taken her through. Clare had bogeyed the 16th and 17th in her first round so there must be something about the closing holes that the Scot doesn't like.
Lynn had not a single birdie in a second-round 81 for 158. A triple bogey 7 at the 15th epitomised how she was playing rather than making any difference to her chances of making the cut. They had gone by then.
Jenna starts Saturday in joint 40th place after a 73 for 147.
Inverness-based New Zealander Elizabeth McKinnon had a 78 for 158.
LEADING SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
135 Stefania Croce (Ita) 67 68
136 Nina Reis (Swe) 67 69
139 Iben Tinning (Den) 70 69
140 Anne-Lise Caudal (Fra) 67 73
141 Cecilia Ekelundh (Swe) 68 73
142 Julie Greciet (Fra) 73 69, Felicity Johnson (Eng) 70 72, Amy Yang (Kor) 71 71, Lara Tadiotto (Bel) 73 69, Samantha Head (Eng) 76 66
143 Karen Lunn (Aus) 75 68, Jade Schaeffer (Fra) 72 71, Laura Terebey (USA) 73 70, Paula Marti (Spa) 69 74, Lisa Hall (Eng) 74 69, Cassandra Kirkland (Fra) 70 73
144 Trish Johnson (Eng) 73 71, Leah Hart (Aus) 71 73, Julie Tvede (Den) 71 73, Caroline Afonso (Fra) 70 74, Georgina Simpson (Eng) 74 70, Tania Elosegui (Spa) 74 70
145 Laura Davies (Eng) 72 73, Natalie Claire Booth (Eng) 72 73, Kate Combes (Aus) 71 74, Stefanie Michl (Aut) 70 75, Anna Knutsson (Swe) 70 75, Joanne Mills (Aus) 72 73, Rebecca Hudson (Eng) 72 73, Sophie Giquel (Fra) 69 76, Carmen Alonso (Spa) 70 75, Anja Monke (Ger) 67 78
146 Cherie Byrnes (Aus) 76 70, Laura Cabanillas (Spa) 73 73, Lora Fairclough (Eng) 74 72, Linda Wessberg (Swe) 72 74, Federica Piovano (Ita) 74 72, Carin Koch (Swe) 74 72, Laurette Maritz (Rsa) 73 73
147 Jehanne Jail (Fra) 76 71, Marta Prieto (Spa) 73 74, Zuzana Kamasova (Svk) 73 74, Jenna Wilson (Sco) 74 73, Dana Lacey (Aus) 73 74, Emma Zackrisson (Swe) 72 75, Maria Boden (Swe) 77 70
148 Florence Luscher (Swi) 76 72, Diana Luna (Ita) 74 74, Rachel Bell (Eng) 73 75, Ana Larraneta (Spa) 72 76, Marion Ricordeau
(Fra) 74 74, Nathalie David-Mila (Fra) 73 75, Lynn Brooky (Nzl) 76 72
149 Anne Norman Hansen (Den) 74 75, Valerie Michaud (Fra) 74 75, Ursula Wikstrom (Fin) 75 74, Martina Eberl (Ger) 74 75, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 72 77, Kirsty S Taylor (Eng) 73 76, Christine Hallstrom (Swe) 76 73, Vicky Thomas (Aus) 74 75, Kaisa Ruuttila (Fin) 76 73, Marina Arruti (Spa) 73 76, Lydia Hall (Wal) 75 74, Miriam Nagl (Ger) 75 74, Sarah Nicholson (Nzl) 78 71
MISSED THE CUT
150 Elena Giraud (Fra) 72 78, Sophie Walker (Eng) 76 74, Ana B Sanchez (Spa) 74 76, Martina Gillen (Irl) 74 76, Anna Tybring (Swe) 74 76, Lena Tornevall (Swe) 75 75, Eva Steinberger (Aut) 69 81, Km Juul (Den) 71 79, Emma Cabrera-Bello (Spa) 79 71, Bree Turnbull (Aus) 69 81, Lotta Wahlin (Swe) 72 78, Lee-Anne Pace (Rsa) 73 77, Johanna Westerberg (Swe) 74 76
151 Vittoria Valvassori (Ita) 78 73, Mianne Bagger (Den) 73 78, Clare Queen (Sco) 75 76, Joanne Morley (Eng) 74 77, Nora Angehrn (Swi) 76 75, Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha) 78 73, Bettina Hauert (Ger) 74 77, Elisabeth Esterl (Ger) 74 77, Nicole Gergely (Aut) 74 77, Cecilie Lundgreen (Nor) 73 78
152 Amanda Moltke-Leth (Den) 73 79, Denise-Charlotte Becker (Ger) 74 78, Rebecca Coakley (Irl) 77 75, Margherita Rigon (Ita) 73 79, Kelly Froelich (Fra) 76 76, Frederique Seeholzer (Swi) 76 76, Marianne Skarpnord (Nor) 74 78, Natascha Fink (Aut) 75 77
153 Ludivine Kreutz (Fra) 77 76, Stephanie Arricau (Fra) 79 74, Melodie Bourdy (Fra) 75 78
154 Sofia Renell (Swe) 75 79, Bronwyn Mullins-Lane (Aus) 80 74
155 Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (Fra) 82 73, Veronica Zorzi (Ita) 78 77, Frederique Dorbes (Fra) 78 77, Ellen Smets (Bel) 79 76, Maria Verchenova (Rus) 76 79
156 Katharina Schallenberg (Ger) 76 80, Marjet Van Der Graaff (Ned) 75 81, Itziar Elguezabal (Spa) 78 78, Anna Rossi (Ita) 74 82, Camille Fallay (Fra) 80 76, Morgane Bazin Dejessey
(Fra) 82 74
158 Elin Ohlsson (Swe) 79 79, Elizabeth Mckinnon (Nzl) 80 78, Emilie Alonso (Fra) 78 80, Lynn Kenny (Sco) 77 81, Olof Maria Jonsdottir (Ice) 76 82
160 Anne-Sophie Le Nalio (Fra) 82 78, Julie Berton (Fra) 74 86
161 Frances Bondad (Aus) 83 78
162 Celine Herbin
(Fra) 80 82
163 Jo Clingan (Eng) 82 81
Retired: Becky Brewerton (Wal) 77, Patricia Beliard (Fra) 84, Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den)