The presence of mum on the bag has inspired Kristalle Blum to her best LET Access Series finish of the season at the Smorum Ladies Open in Denmark.

Continuing the trend of Aussie top-10s on the Ladies European Tour secondary circuit, Blum bettered her seventh-place finish at the Montauban Ladies Open with a tie for sixth, just three shots shy of the three-person playoff won by England’s Gemma Clews.

Second entering the third and final round, Blum was in the heat of the battle when she birdied the par-4 second hole yet a double-bogey at the next – the par-5 third – stalled her momentum.

She steadied with four straight pars and then a birdie at the par-4 eighth, turning in 1-over when she dropped a shot at the par-3 ninth.

A second double-bogey at the par-3 11th would ultimately end her chances of a second LET Access Series win, closing with a 3-over 73 and tie for sixth.

It was the first event for which Blum had her mother, PGA Professional Christine Burton, on the bag, a partnership that will continue for the remainder of her European campaign.

“Mum just got here. I’ve got family now for the rest of the season, which will be quite different but great,” said Blum.

“Mum hasn’t come over and seen me play. She hasn’t really seen me play in Europe since I turned professional so that makes this week special.”

Kelsey Bennett continued her consistent form in her rookie season with a tie for 14th as Amy Walsh used a second round of 3-under 67 to propel herself to a tie for 22nd.

As one contingent of Australasian players conclude a tournament a host of others are getting ready to tee it up in both Scotland and Indiana.

The build-up to next week’s AIG Women’s Open continues with the FREED Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links, good friends Steph Kyriacou and Karis Davidson paired together for the opening two rounds.

With nine events left in the season, Gabi Ruffels will be out to cement her No.1 spot on the Epson Tour’s Race For The Card standings at the French Lick Charity Classic.

Ruffels will be joined by Robyn Choi, Cassie Porter, Sarah Jane Smith, Hira Naveed and Kiwi Amelia Garvey at The Pete Dye Course at French Lick.

Results
LET Access Series
Smorum Ladies Open
Smorum Golfklub, Denmark
1             Gemma Clews    71-67-66—204   €9,600
T6           Kristalle Blum     69-65-73—207   €2,175
T14        Kelsey Bennett   70-70-70—210   €1,357.50
T22        Amy Walsh          75-67-70—212   €916.50
T43        Stefanie Hall       74-70-72—216   €608.40
T62        Munchin Keh (NZ)            73-73-74—220   €342
MC         Stephanie Bunque            76-71—147
MC         Hanee Song (NZ)              72-76—148

Round 1 tee times AEST
Ladies European Tour
FREED GROUP Women’s Scottish Open
Dundonald Links, Scotland
4.32pm*              Nasa Hataoka, Linn Grant, Minjee Lee
5.16pm                Sarah Kemp, Kylie Henry, Hye-Jin Choi
10.48pm              Stephanie Kyriacou, Karis Davidson, Lily May Humphreys

Defending champion: Ayaka Furue
Past Aussie winners: Rebecca Artis (2015)
TV times: Live 11pm-3am Thursday, Friday on Fox Sports 508; Live 10.17pm-2am Saturday; Live 10pm-2am Sunday on Fox Sports 503.

Epson Tour
French Lick Charity Classic
The Pete Dye Course at French Lick, French Lick, Indiana
9.52pm                Kim Kaufman, Chatprapa Siri Edell, Sarah Jane Smith
10.14pm              Robyn Choi, Natasha Andrea Oon, Britney Yada
10.25pm*            Isabella Fierro, Jillian Hollis, Cassie Porter
10.47pm              Amelia Garvey (NZ), Jiwon Jeon, Agathe Laisne
10.47pm*            Yiyi Liu, Yue Ren, Gabriela Ruffels
3.36pm*              Becca Huffer, Lindsey McCurdy, Hira Naveed

Defending champion: Xiaowen Yin
Past Aussie winners: Nil

Photo: Jesper Vinzents/LETAS