Gabriella Cowley fired a fine 67 to hold a one-shot lead going into the final round of the ISPS Handa World Invitational at Galgorm Castle on Saturday.

The Englishwoman began the day two shots behind the leader and got off to a good start with birdies on the second, fourth and eighth holes.

Cowley dropped a shot on the 10th but rolled in back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12 and made another on 14.

The 27-year-old then had another bogey on the 15th but made a birdie on 17 to seal a round of 67 and move to the top of the leaderboard on six-under.

“Obviously, it’s great,” said Cowley, who is in search of a maiden LET title. “Today was just a really good day. I felt really in control and just really enjoyed it.

“I thought the course set-up today was great. There is still rain and wind, but it just wasn’t as severe, and the course wasn’t playing as tough and as long. The rough just seemed to actually not settle down as much. It’s still thick, but it just didn’t seem to nestle down as much today. There were a few more birdie chances today.

“It’s what we wish for to lead a tournament and things we want to do as much as we can, so I think I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m playing well, so just see what happens.

“Me and my caddie Ben, we’re such close friends. We have been friends for a while now. He just makes me laugh all day. I just feel really relaxed and it’s just a bit of a different feeling. Usually, my dad is here and he does a great job, too, but it’s just nice for someone to be doing all the work and me just hitting the shots.

“I quite like playing against the guys and being at the same venues as them. I feel like I can learn quite a lot from them, and just understanding what sort of shots they like to play and how they do things. These weeks are a bit more open minded and a bit more relaxed. Tomorrow I’m just hoping it’s a late tee off so I can watch the football!”

.@gabscowley is pulling out all the shots on day three! ?#RaiseOurGame | #WorldInvitational

pic.twitter.com/1yRR13C36N

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) August 19, 2023

American Ryann O’Toole and Germany’s Esther Henseleit sit in a share of second place on five-under at Galgorm.

Switzerland’s Kim Metraux sits in solo fourth place on four-under-par after producing a round of 69 (-3).

Four players are in a tie for fifth place with England’s Bronte Law, American Alexa Pano, Germany’s Olivia Cowan and Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela all on two-under-par.

While Korea’s Soo Bin Joo and Wales’ Chloe Williams round out the top 10 on one-under-par with one round remaining.

In the co-santioned DP World Tour men’s competition, England’s Dan Brown maintained his six-shot advantage and leads with a total of 14-under-par ahead of England’s Alex Fitzpatrick and South Africa’s Wilco Nienaber.

The post Cowley out in front with 18 to go in Northern Ireland appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

It was a solid start for Englishwoman Bronte Law on Thursday at the ISPS Handa World Invitational. The 28-year-old carded a solid three-under 70 at Castlerock on day one, making four birdies and one bogey to sit one off the lead of Switzerland’s Kim Metraux, England’s Gabriella Cowley, Sweden’s Ellinor Sudow and Australia’s Karis Davidson on the same course of the mixed, double-venue event, co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour and LPGA.

Starting her day on the par-4 10th hole, Law grabbed a birdie early on the par-5 11th, and then made two more on 14 and 16, both of which are par 3s. She dropped a shot on 18 to turn in 35 but birdied the par-5 3rd hole to erase her mistake, parring out to finish with a 70 and sit one back of the lead. Law was incredibly pleased with her performance on a difficult, windy day in Northern Ireland and will look to build off this strong first-round showing over the next 54 holes.

“Those into-wind holes were very challenging,” said Law, who hit 11 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens. “Some pin positions there is not much green to work with, and when a gust of wind blows in your face, it makes that landing area even smaller. So being smart with where you want to leave yourself. You know you’re not always going to hit all the greens, so leaving yourself in position to where you are more likely to make up and down. Thought I managed that pretty well today. I think that’s the key when you’re playing this style of golf course. I think it’s a lot of fun. But you have to stay switched on all day.”

Law will now set her sights on Galgorm Castle Golf Club, a venue that differs drastically from the links-style golf she played at Castlerock, a change in pace that will take some adjustment from the LPGA veteran.

“I’m going to go over there on the putting green now and get to grips with the green speeds because they’re slightly different, hit some shots on the range,” Law said. “Just kind of get out of the wind mentality for links courses and a little more target golf as it will be out there tomorrow. It’s been playing a little softer, so, yeah, very different.”

Kim Metraux. LET

It was a steady day for Swiss star Metraux, who only had one dropped shot on her card and rolled in five birdies.

“Just overall a really solid day,” said Metraux. “I started off well with a birdie on one and that kind of got me going through the round.

“I managed to not really miss many greens. The only one I missed was when I made bogey on 15. I was a bit unfortunate to make a bogey on a reachable par-five, but overall I was just really solid from tee to green and managed to drop a few putts, which was really nice.

“Links is definitely something different than what we play year long, but we did play Scottish two weeks ago. That kind was good preparation I guess for today and most of the tournaments we play on LET, although not links courses, we’ve had quite a windy season.

“Galgorm is very different from here. It’s like two completely different worlds. A lot softer course with thick rough, so it’s definitely a different challenge, but if I keep hitting fairways and greens we’ll be in good shape.”

England’s Cowley got off to a solid start making birdies on the third, eighth, 10th and 11th holes.

The 27-year-old dropped a shot on the 13th but soon bounced back with birdies on 15 and 17, but unfortunately found trouble on the last and ended with a bogey for her round of four-under.

“For my birdie on 10, it was playing quite tough into the wind,” she said. “I hit a really good drive and hit 5-iron and it was just perfect; I holed a good putt. I made a few birdies today which was nice.

“Being on a links course it was windy this afternoon, so I was just trying to manage the ball flight and the kind of shots that we’re trying to hit. I think the course was playing tough, but there were obviously a few par-fives that we can reach which was good for us.

“I like Galgorm. I played there for the last few years, so looking forward to tomorrow. My plan is similar to today. Trust what I’m doing and hit the shots that I need to hit and play good golf.

“Obviously completely different course, completely different style. It’s not so much managing how much it runs out and how much the wind will affect it. It’s about picking a good number and committing to it.”

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