A girl leads and does not tremble. The Canadian Anna Huang (-17), 16 years old, signed 69 strokes in the third round and will arrive on Sunday with a three-stroke lead over the French Nastasia Nadaud (-14) at La Sella Golf Resort. She did it, moreover, after stringing together 62 holes without bogeys until the mistake on the 15th today. The rest was once again control and calm. Birdie on the 2nd, another on the 9th, and the double show of authority on holes 11 and 12.
“My tee-to-green game remained good; hopefully, I can carry that momentum into tomorrow. Not many putts went in, but pressure is a privilege,” said the rookie, who could join the select club of Tour winners before turning 17. The last was Chiara Noja in 2022.
Behind, Nadaud held on with 69 strokes and will play on Sunday in the leader’s wake. Really, barring catastrophe, it seems a two-horse race. The third place occupied by the Irish Lauren Walsh (-10), who emerged with a flawless 66 in the third round of La Sella Open, is already seven strokes behind. It’s a big gap. Too much, again, barring catastrophe.
There will be no Spanish champion at La Sella this year. That is something the third round has made clear. Although very interesting things can still happen in Alicante. The best of ours is Nuria Iturrioz (-5) after shooting 73 strokes today. A bad day for the Balearic player. It was the day to attack, but it went wrong and she lost ground. In any case, she remains within the top-10 and with real chances to climb if the putter heats up in the final round.
On the other hand, Marta Martín (-3), with a card of 68 strokes today, one of the best of the day from a Spanish perspective, has entered the upper zone. For now, she has set her sights on the top 10. Meanwhile, Carolina López-Chacarra (Par) shot 71 strokes in the third round, under par. A very solid tournament in her home debut.
Luna Sobrón (-1) has regained her best feelings after a bad second day and is aiming for a good Sunday. Blanca Fernández (+1) had a rougher day (73 strokes), although mainly marked by a painful double bogey on the 16th hole. Three strokes in two days have been lost on this hole by the Madrid player. Yesterday it ‘stole’ a birdie with a lip-out, and today she stumbled doubly. Lastly, a bad day at the office for Harang Lee (+5).
Schedule: the last match tees off this Sunday at 12:41 (local time). TV/stream coverage from 15:00 to 18:00.
