Reid stays the course in Turkey

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Melissa Reid kept the lead at the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open for a third successive day – despite being caught by Pamela Pretswell after 15 holes.

Reid made a slow start in the scorching conditions at Carya Golf Club in Belek on Tuesday afternoon and played the front nine in level par before making a double bogey on the par-4 12th hole.

The 2010 tournament winner was caught at 10 under by Pretswell when the 26-year-old Scot birdied the 15th hole, but after both players birdied the 17th, Pretswell dropped a shot on the uphill par-4 18th to give Reid a one stroke advantage at 11 under par.

“It was really tough this afternoon,” said Reid, after a third round of one over par 74. “The greens are borderline unplayable, they are so firm. We were struggling to hold wedges onto it and Gwladys hit a couple of really nice chips and they ran out 15 yards. It was tough. I always felt like I was in between clubs. I was needing a nine and a half iron, eight and a half iron. I’m quite happy in a way that I’ve played it in these conditions because hopefully tomorrow I can play a bit better.”

Pretswell had five birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on the 10th hole in her third round of 72.

She said: “It was a wee bit tougher today because the course kind of changed midway with the warm weather. The course started to dry out a bit and the greens got a little bit faster. I played some good stuff but has a couple of bad holes which let me down, but I’m happy with the way I played today.”

Fellow Scot Sally Watson occupies third place after a five under par 68, while there are four Scots in the top 12 places.

Watson said: “It’s nice to have a couple of Scots up there on the leader board. It’s a good thing for Scottish golf and I’m still a couple back, so I’ll keep fighting on every shot and try to claw back shots as quickly as I can.”

Lucie Andre of France and Australian Rebecca Artis are tied for fourth place, with leading LET rookie Nanna Koertz Madsen of Denmark, England’s Dame Laura Davies, Scot Kylie Walker and Frenchwoman Gwladys Nocera in a share of sixth on five under par. Scotland’s Carly Booth, Norwegian Tonje Daffinrud and Lynn Carlsson from Sweden are tied for 10th place.

The Turkish Airlines Ladies Open is the first tournament on any major golf tour to finish on a Wednesday, with the aim to increase live television coverage.

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