SPANISH ACE GOES NINE SHOTS

CLEAR AFTER EIGHT-UNDER 63

IN THIRD ROUND

Spanish teenage ace Carlota Ciganda, who has a handicap of plus five, produced an amazing round, even by her high standards, of eight-under-par 63 - not surprisingly a new course record - to jump nine shots clear of the field after three rounds of the 72-hole Portuguese women's open amateur championship at Benamore Golf Club on the eastern Algarve today.

Pamplona-based Carlota, pictured right, the 17-year-old British women's open amateur champion, had an eagle at the 11th ande birdies at the third, sixth, seventhy, eighth, 15th, 17th and 18th - as well as a solitary bogey at the 14th - in halves of four-under-par 32 on the way out and four-under-par 31 on the way home.

After earlier rounds of 69 and 70 over the par-71 lay-out of 5,242 metres, Carlota is out on her own on 11-under-par 202 with only Sunday's round to come.

Overnight leader Florentyna Parker, based in Germany where her father is a club pro, shot a third-round 73 for 211 and second place. Florentyna, who plays off + 2 and is a member of Royal Birkdale, had a double bogey 6 at the 14th.

Aberdeenshire champion Michele Thomson from Ellon is tied for third place with two Welsh players, 2006 Curtis Cup team member Breanne Loucks and young Sarah Hassan from Vale of Glamorgan. They are all on one-over-par 214.

Michele matched the second-best round of the day with a two-under-par 69. She birdied the fourth, seventh, 10th, 11th, 15th and 18th but had bogeys at the fifth, 12th, 13th and 14th. Perhaps her biggest improvement compared with the first two days was keeping a double or even triple bogey off her card.

Kylie Walker, the only other Scot in the field, repeated her second-day 70 and is in sixth place on 215. Kylie birdied the second, 10th and 12th and had bogeys at the eighth and 18th in halves of 36 and 34.

The field was cut to the leading 40 and ties for the final round - all those players with 54-hole totals of 232 or better.

Irish champion Karen Delaney (Carlow) missed out on 239.

THIRD-ROUND TOTALS

Par 213 (3 x 71)

202 Carlota Ciganda (Spain) 69 70 63.

211 Florentyna Parker (England) 71 67 71.

214 Michele Thomson (Scotland) 73 72 69, Breanne Loucks (Wales) 72 71 71, Sahra Hassan (Wales) 70 70 74.

215 Kylie Walker (Scotland) 75 70 70.

216 Ane Urchegui (Spain) 74 73 69, Barbara Genui9ni (France) 71 74 71.

217 Holly Aitchison (England) 71 77 69.

Other scores:

225 Tara Davies (Wales) 76 74 75.

226 Charlie Douglass (England) 78 74 74.

227 Gillian O'Leary (Ireland) 79 75 73.

228 Rhian Wyn Thomas (Wales) 79 75 74.

229 Kirsty Rands (England) 77 76 76.

231 Niamh Kitching (Ireland) 79 75 77.

232 Sian James (England) 76 80 76.

MISSED THE CUT (at 232 for leading 40 and ties).

235 Ami Storey (England) 78 80 77.

236 Nikki Hunter (England) 79 80 77.

239 Victoria Bradshaw (Ireland) 77 81 81, Karen Delaney (Ireland) 82 78 79.

Disqualified Corisande Lee (England) 77 74 -.

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