/> Rebecca Kay closed with a one-under 72 to be leading amateur for the second time in three years at the RACV Gold Coast Challenge to finish in outright third place.
The newly turned 18 year old and Coolangatta-Tweed Heads member, finished three-under for the 54-hole tournament, three strokes adrift from eventual winner Prima Thammaraks of Thailand.
Kay posted rounds of 73, 71 and 72 and impressed top LPGA Tour veterans Sarah-Jane Smith and Katherine Kirk on the way.
“Becky is teeny-tiny but clearly strong because she drives the ball plenty far enough”, Kirk said.
“What I like is her perfect demeanour with not getting fussed about anything on course and she can go as far as she wants in golf.”
Kay finished as runner-up in the 2017 Women's NSW Strokeplay days prior however decided to skip the matchplay event to challenge the Royal Pines layout. In 2015, Kay finished tied for sixth, behind Su Oh (-7) and Kirk (-4), in the Australian Ladies Masters.
The year has started spectacularly for Kay with two high ranking wins within two months after adding the 2017 South Australian Junior Girls Masters trophy to her cabinet in January as well as a Round 16 finish at the Australian Amateur.
Fellow Queensland amateurs Karis Davidson and Gennai Goodwin also made the cut finishing five shots back in T9 and T52 respectively.
Kay has a start on Thursday in the Victorian Open before attempting to pre-qualify for the Women's Australian Open in Adelaide.