Celina Yuan is sitting in a strong position in her quest for a tour card for the 2017 Ladies European Tour (LET) after firing a five-under par 67 in the third round of the final of the 2017 LET Tour School currently being held in Morocco.
The Australian Golf Club member carded six birdies and a solitary bogey in her tidy round at the Amelkis Golf Club. She sits in outright second place, only two shots behind the leader, France’s Celine Boutier.
Yuan, who is only a couple of weeks shy of turning 18, was a member of the Golf NSW Girls team that took out the 2016 Junior Interstate Series in Tasmania early this year. She is a former Australian Amateur Girls Champion, and is also the reigning Queensland Women's Amateur Champion.
With two rounds to play in the marathon five-round final qualifying school, the other Australians in the field have plenty of work ahead of them to gain playing privileges. Hayley Bettencourt sits in a tie for 87th; Sheridan Jordan is in 91st, and Amy Walsh is in 112th position.
The fourth round will be played tonight with Yuan teeing off with the leader, Boutier and her French counterpart Agathe Sauzon, who is sitting in third place. Their round begins at 10.44am local time.
The field of 115 players is split in two groups and will alternate over the first four rounds between Amelkis Golf Club and Samanah Country Club. There will be a cut to the top 60 and ties after the fourth round and the fifth and final round will be contested at Samanah Country Club.
Players who finish in the top 30 and ties will earn Ladies European Tour Membership in category 8 for 2017, while those that finish from positions 31 to 60 and ties after the cut will earn Membership in Category 9b.