Photograph courtesy of Tristan Jones photography

Iceland`s Valdis Jonsdottir has hung on to her lead at the Worrells Women’s NSW Open after carding a second-round one-under-par 70 at Queanbeyan Golf Club this morning.

The 29-year-old described her round as a challenge, fighting an erratic driver and approach shots which didn’t have the radar like the consistency of her first round 63, but regardless will still take a two shot lead into the final 36 holes this weekend. 

“It was a bit of a battle today, honestly,” she smiled. “I didn’t hit very nicely off the tee; I only hit three fairways.”

“My irons weren’t as aggressive today as they were yesterday, so I’m happy with one under based on how I hit the ball.”

Asked about the mental challenge of backing up her incredibly low first round score, Jonsdottir said she hadn’t thought much about it until the phone calls, and messages from Iceland began to appear on her phone.

“I tried not to think about it, but Iceland is 11 hours behind Australia, and I kept on getting messages yesterday & this morning as I woke up, reminding me of what I did yesterday.

“I tried to block it out and start a new day today.”

The players to make the biggest moves of the day were Germany`s Karolin Lampert, and Swede Lynn Carlsson, who both shot 6-under par rounds of 65. Lampert sits alone in second place at -7, while Carlsson will head into the weekend in a tie for third place at -6  with defending champion, England`s Meghan Maclaren. 

The talented Swede Carlsson was thrilled with her effort post round.

“I’m very happy, and I got on a good flow in the middle of the round, an eagle on 7 and a birdie on 8 & 9.

“I played solid, hit a lot of greens. I’m very comfortable with my putting, so it was a very good day.”

New South Wales’ Rebecca Artis is the leading Australian player at the halfway mark, sitting in a tie for 5th place at 5-under par, with Scotland’s Michelle Thompson and Austrian Christine Wolf.

Artis, although pleased to be where she is on the leaderboard, felt she still had some more improvement left in her game.

‘I didn’t play quite as well today,” she said. “I hit 17 greens yesterday, so it’s always tough to back up.”

“I got off to a slow start but stayed patient. I hit a couple of decent shots, and I am feeling confident with the putter.

“I knocked one in close on par 16th, and one on 18th. I made both of those.

“I felt I played better on my back nine today and tried to hang in there. Hopefully, I can get it going on the weekend.”

The 36-hole cut fell at +3 with 58 players making it through to the final two rounds, including amateurs, NSW star Grace Kim and Queenslander Cassie Porter who sit at -2 in a tie for 13th place.

Round 3 pairings can be found HERE

Round 3 will get underway from 8:30 am on Saturday morning at Queanbeyan Golf Club, entry is FREE for spectators.

Follow the live scoring at www.alpg.com.au

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