Catriona Matthew (75) in fourth
place behind Gwladys Nocera

FROM THE LADIES' EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
European No 2 Gwladys Nocera carded a four-under-par 69 to give herself a one-shot lead at the Madrid Ladies Masters in Spain today.
The 33-year-old Frenchwoman had seven birdies and three bogeys to move to five-under for the tournament on a windy day at Casino Club de Golf Retamares. She finished ahead of Spain’s Paula Marti and South Korean teenager Amy Yang, who has won twice this year in Germany and Sweden.
“I had to stay patient. My putting was pretty good. The wind was really difficult today and different from yesterday so it was hard to judge the distances sometimes. I worked it out well with my caddie. The wind was about two clubs difference so it was pretty tricky,” Nocera said.
Nocera is bidding for her fifth title this season at the 54-hole event. Only one other player has won more than four in a single year in the 30-year history of the Ladies European Tour: Marie Laure de Lorenzi of France who won seven times in 1988.
There are other goals within reach for Nocera. A top two finish in this event would see her leapfrog Helen Alfredsson into pole position on the New Star Money List, which is the tour’s official ranking.
“I knew coming into this week that doing well here would give me more chances to win the New Star Money List. I know I have to play well here. I have one round left, which is the hardest round, but I’m going to give it everything,” she said.
However the French player is only one ahead of the 2002 order of merit winner Paula Marti, who is currently 10th in Europe, and fourth ranked Yang. Marti returned a 74, which included an eagle at the last hole, to be four-under, while Yang returned a 73.
“It was a horrible day. I was suffering,” said Marti. “We needed to be patient. I didn’t start that great. I started bogey, par, bogey and then I made a birdie on the fifth and then on the 10th again. I was really unlucky on 12. I hit a good shot in but it hit the lip of the bunker and went in. "Hole 14 is playing the hardest. I hit it to the bunker on the right, hit a super bunker shot to a metre and a half but missed it. I three-putted the next. Luckily I finished much better than yesterday.”
Yang, who was the youngest ever winner on the LET when she won the 2006 ANZ Ladies Masters, added: “It was a really different day. It was so windy; yesterday was so calm and warm. It turned into such a different day.”
Six-under-par after 10 holes in the second round, Yang lost her lead after she double bogeyed the par-4 14th hole. She said: “Hole 14 is the highest point and it was so windy there. When I was swinging the wind pushed me suddenly and then I hit it funny. I hit it into the bush and took an unplayable. I saved one putt so it could have been a worse score.”
North Berwick's Catriona Matthew shot 75 and finished the day alone in fourth place.
Denmark’s Iben Tinning was fifth after a round of 74. England’s Laura Davies, who won her 70th title in Austria three weeks ago, carded a 75 and was joint sixth with Spain’s Tania Elosegui, Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord and compatriots Rebecca Hudson and Kirsty S Taylor, the first round leader.
The defending champion Martina Eberl of Germany retired with an injured shoulder.
COLIN FARQUHARSON'S SCOTSWATCH:
Two double bogey 6s in the same round would be disastrous in an LPGA Tour event. So Catriona Matthew will have been mildly surprised she was still occupying as high a position as fourth after 36 holes in Madrid.
The North Berwick player had birdies at the third, 10th, 13th and 18th but 6s at the par-4 sixth and 14th in halves of 38 and 37.
Clare Queen repeated her first-round 80 and is anchored at the bottom of the field.
She had birdies at the third and fifth in halves of 38 and 42. The short 17th must be giving the Scot nightmares. It cost her a double bogey 5 in the first round - and a triple bogey 6 today!