Vikki and Kylie in top five with a

round to go

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
The Ladies European Tour’s Henderson Money List leader Lee-Anne Pace from South Africa seized a three-stroke lead heading into Sunday's final round of the Finnair Masters.
The 29-year-old from Mossel Bay shot a seven-under 64 at Helsinki Golf Club today, to lead on a 12-under-par 36-hole total ahead of Vikki Laing from Musselburgh.
Pace is well placed to collect her third Ladies European Tour trophy of the season after her second round, containing seven birdies and no bogeys.
She looked totally relaxed as she stepped onto the tee on Saturday, safe in the knowledge that the purse she had lost on Friday evening had been safely recovered.
The purse was discovered on the seat of a tram by a couple of honest young girls who handed it into the police and Pace was able to collect it from the station in the city centre before her 1.40pm tee time.
Pace could hardly sleep the night before with stress but was notified at breakfast. “I was under so much stress last night and had so many tickets to book and things to do on my credit card for the rest of the year. China is coming up and I was thinking, ‘What am I going to do?’”
With her heart rate lowered, Pace tapped in for birdie at the first hole then picked up shots at the seventh and eighth holes to take a one-stroke advantage.
She extended her lead by draining a 25 ft birdie putt at the 10th and tapped in for another birdie at the 13th after hitting an impressive third shot stone dead from under the trees.
She rolled in a four-footer for birdie on 14 and three-putted the par-five 17th for a par before stiffing a six-iron to five feet and holing the birdie putt at the last. “I enjoyed that one,” said Pace. “I missed a short one on 17 and was like, ‘Forget about it; birdie this one,’ and I did.
“I was very happy with my game, the same as yesterday. I hit it closer I think today and I had two or three tap-ins, which were guaranteed birdies, so that’s nice."
Pace is hoping to extend her lead of the Henderson Money List after her two wins this year in Switzerland and Wales. She continued her blistering run of form with a tie for second at Archerfield Links last week and is riding the crest of a wave.
“I don’t plan to get off any time soon but I’ll ride it and see how it goes,” she said.
She revealed that she felt comfortable with being at the top of the scoreboard. “It’s the second time I’m sleeping on the lead so I’m okay with that. Obviously you’re always going to feel nerves but when I’m nervous it helps me a little bit,” she said. She held a two-stroke lead heading into the final round of the S4C Wales Ladies Championship, which she won a fortnight ago.
The first round leader, Scotland's Kylie Walker (71 for 135), is two strokes behind second-placed Vikki Laing, who had a sparkling 65 for 133. Kylie is sharing third place with Mollie Fankhauser of the United States and Frenchwoman Jade Schaeffer. Sweden’s Carin Koch and the 2005 champion Lisa Holm Sorensen of Denmark were two strokes further adrift.
Solhvi Härkönen is the top Finnish player in a share of 14th position, with Minea Blomqvist and Kaisa Ruuttila tied for 19th. After the arrival of her first child in March, the 2008 champion Blomqvist was delighted to have made her first cut of the year.
The two Finns will play together in the same group as Carmen Alonso at 9.50am on Sunday and are sure to attract a large gallery. The leading trio of Pace, Laing and Schaeffer will tee off at 11am.


SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Helsinki GC, Tali, Finland
Par 142 (2x71)
130 Lee-Anne Pace (Rsa) 66 64
133 Vikki Laing (Sco) 68 65
135 Jade Schaeffer (Fra) 68 67, Kylie Walker (Sco) 64 71, Mollie Fankhauser (USA) 70 65
137 Carin Koch (Swe) 69 68, Lisa Holm Sorensen (Den) 67 70
138 Linda Wessberg (Swe) 70 68, Caroline Hedwall (Swe) 67 71
139 Dewi-Claire Schreefel (Ned) 69 70, Malene Jorgensen (Den) 67 72, Morgana Robbertze (Rsa) 67 72, Christel Boeljon (Ned) 70 69
140 Sohvi Harkonen (Fin) 72 68, Anja Monke (Ger) 69 71
141 Kiran Matharu (Eng) 68 73, Alison Walshe (USA) 72 69, Laurette Maritz (Rsa) 70 71
142 Cassandra Kirkland (Fra) 71 71, Rebecca Coakley (Irl) 70 72, Holly Aitchison (Eng) 75 67, Carmen Alonso (Spa) 71 71, Minea Blomqvist (Fin) 72 70, Kaisa Ruuttila (Fin) 68 74
143 Corisande Lee (Eng) 69 74, Rebecca Hudson (Eng) 72 71, Titiya Plucksataporn (Tha) 70 73, Henrietta Zuel (Eng) 72 71, Kyra Van Leeuwen (Ned) 72 71, Julie Maisongrosse (Fra) 71 72, Sophie Giquel (Fra) 70 73, Jenni Kuosa (Fin) 72 71
144 Hannah Jun (USA) 70 74, Jeehae Lee (Kor) 73 71, Sophie Sandolo (Ita) 74 70, Rebecca Flood (Aus) 73 71, Sophie Walker (Eng) 73 71, Pamela Feggans (Sco) 72 72, Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (Fra) 70 74
145 Mallory Blackwelder (USA) 74 71, Nikki Garrett (Aus) 72 73, Elizabeth Bennett (Eng) 72 73, Caroline Afonso (Fra) 71 74, Karen Lunn (Aus) 71 74
146 Kym Larratt (Eng) 72 74, Riikka Hakkarainen (Fin) 74 72, Johanna W Johansson (Swe) 76 70, Kate Combes (Aus) 72 74, Hannah Ralph (Eng) 72 74, Julie Tvede (Den) 79 67, Martina Gillen (Irl) 73 73, Krystle Caithness (Sco) 72 74, Jessica Ji (Kor) 76 70
MISSED THE CUT
147 Ursula Wikstrom (Fin) 74 73, Camille Fallay (Fra) 69 78, Lotta Wahlin (Swe) 73 74, Elin Emanuelsson (Swe) 73 74, Johanna Lundberg (Swe) 72 75, Mayumi Nakajima (Jpn) 75 72, Hanna-Leena Salonen (Fin) 73 74, Margherita Rigon (Ita) 76 71, Stefania Croce (Ita) 73 74
148 Carly Booth (Sco) 75 73, Federica Piovano (Ita) 76 72, Antonella Cvitan (Swe) 75 73, Nina Reis (Swe) 75 73, Elena Giraud (Fra) 74 74
149 Denise-Charlotte Becker (Ger) 78 71, Danielle Louise Masters (Eng) 73 76, Tara Delaney (Irl) 75 74, Josefin Leijon (Swe) 76 73, Kim Welch (USA) 72 77, Cecilie Lundgreen (Nor) 74 75, Christine Hallstrom (Swe) 73 76
150 Beth Allen (USA) 78 72, Dana Lacey-Johnson (Aus) 73 77, Maria Boden (Swe) 74 76, Hazel Kavanagh (Irl) 72 78, Eva Steinberger (Aut) 78 72, Jo Pritchard (Wal) 77 73, Melodie Bourdy (Fra) 74 76, Tandi Cuningham (S Africa) 76 74
151 Claire Aitken (Eng) 73 78, Laura Cabanillas (Spa) 76 75, Asuka Tsujimura (Jpn) 77 74, Mianne Bagger (Den) 74 77, Ana Larraneta (Spa) 75 76, Monica V.Christiansen (Den) 74 77, Lynn Kenny (Sco) 75 76
152 Maria Verchenova (Rus) 76 76, Emelie Lind (Swe) 76 76, Matilda Castren (Fin) 73 79, Clare Queen (Sco) 76 76
153 Galina Rotmistrova (Rus) 75 78, Nathalie David-Mila (Fra) 72 81, Sharmila Nicollet (Ind) 76 77, Julie Greciet (Fra) 75 78
154 Anna Rossi (Ita) 78 76
155 Mariana Macias Capuzzi (Spa) 80 75
156 Rhian Wyn Thomas (Wal) 80 76, Caroline Rominger (Swi) 76 80, Jutta Degerman (Fin) 79 77
157 Linda Henriksson (Fin) 80 77
158 Anne Hakula (Fin) 75 83
164 K-M Juul (Den) 83 81
RTD: 75 Smriti Mehra (Ind), 85 Ludivine Kreutz (Fra), 88 Marjet Van Der Graaff (Ned