Leona Maguire two off the lead at Open de Espana heading into final round

Ireland’s Leona Maguire shot a 70 on day three of the Open de Espana at Alferini Golf Club to stay in contention with the leader Morgane Metraux.

The Cavan woman had a difficult start to her day with a double-bogey at the par-five second hole. However, the rest of her round was without a blemish on her card, with four birdies to shoot two under on the day and 12 under for the tournament.

The leader Metraux shot a 67 on Saturday, which featured an eye-catching seven birdies and a single drop shot. The Swiss player is on 14 under.

The 17-year-old Spanish amateur Cayetana Fernandez fell back from the lead with a level-par 72, but remains in the group behind the leader with Maguire and Swede Caroline Hedwall, who shot a 69. Swedish player Linn Grant is five shots behind in tied ninth and is set to win the Race to Costa del Sol order of merit on the Ladies European Tour.

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Meanwhile on the DP World Tour, Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin went backwards with a 74 on Saturday to drop down to tied 29th at the Joburg Open at Houghton GC in South Africa. The Tour rookie was two under for the day after 10 holes but three bogeys and a double-bogey on the back nine left him well clear of the lead on four under.

England’s Don Bradbury on 17 under leads Finland’s Sami Valimaki by one shot with South Africa’s Daniel van Tonder three shots back on 14 under.

British Open champion Cameron Smith leads the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland by three strokes over Yan Wei Liu and Masahiro Kawamura.