Hannah Reeves will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Ford Women’s NSW Open as she bids for a maiden victory on both the WPGA Tour of Australasia and the Ladies European Tour.
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The Queenslander was the standout performer in Regional Qualifying for this week, winning three of the six tournaments held in the months leading up to the main event, and she is now in pole position to take the title after a third-round 66 at Wollongong Golf Club.
Bolstered by an appearance from her father-turned-caddie, who flew down from Brisbane in the morning, Reeves shrugged off slow start as she reeled off five birdies on the back nine to sign for a five-under par round.
The 24-year-old was level-par on the day as she made the turn, after cancelling out a bogey at the third with a birdie at the fifth. Then she made three birdies in the next four holes from the 10th, also birdieing the 16th before a final gain at the last saw her move one stroke clear of compatriot Kelsey Bennett.
“I’m so happy with how I finished there,” Reeves said. “I just kind of mis-hit a few approach shots at the start. I was struggling a bit. I did just stay really patient and just had a few nice feelings throughout my swing. And then it came together at the end. So really happy.
“I’d hit a bunch of good putts earlier that didn’t drop. So I knew if I just kept hitting good putts on the right line, they would eventually drop, which they did on that 10th hole and then managed to get a few more in the back nine.
“It was so special [having Dad on the bag]. They flew down this morning. I think he was a bit nervous, but it was really nice.”
Like Reeves, Bennett birdied the last to remain in touching distance, also signing for a five-under-par round of 66 as she aims for a maiden LET title and her first win on the WPGA Tour of Australasia since The Athena in 2024.
She will enjoy plenty of home support on Sunday as she grew up in Mollymook, just 100 kilometres south of Wollongong on the South Coast of New South Wales.
“I had my family here, which is awesome,” Bennett said. “It’s so nice because obviously I’m usually playing overseas all the time, so to have them here is amazing.
“I didn’t feel like I struck the ball as well today as I did the first day, but I rolled some putts in, which was nice. I think I’m definitely learning [to be patient] as it goes, but I feel like my coach and I have been working on becoming more professional and it’s definitely starting to show, so that’s nice.”
In a share of third on 10-under are amateur Soomin Oh (Korea), Agathe Laisne (France) and April Angurasaranee (Thailand). Angurasaranee carded the lowest round of the tournament so far, a nine-under 62, which included a hole-in-one at the par-3 12th.
The final round will begin at 8:13am on Sunday, with the leaders teeing off at 12:15pm.
