Olivia Mehaffey played her way back into the tournament after shooting a second round 67 to move into the top 30 at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France.
Following a disappointing opening round 74, Mehaffey moved from three over to one under in Friday's second round to comfortably make the 36-hole cut at the Deauville event.
The County Armagh woman sits nine shots off the lead and is unlikely to contend for the title of what is a 54-hole tournament, however, she will look to move futher up the leaderboard with another under par round on Saturday.
Johanna Gustavsson of Sweden shot a five-under-par 66 on Friday to take a slim one-stroke lead with a round remaining.
The 30-year-old has a 10-under-par total heading into the final round of the 54-hole tournament at Golf Barrière.
On an afternoon of low scoring, Gustavsson opened with four birdies on the back nine. She bogeyed the uphill par-4 first hole, her 10th, but bounced back with a birdie. She then sank a 25-foot putt to get into double figures and take a one-stroke lead over fellow Swede Moa Folke, who lies in second, while England's Meghan MacLaren is another stroke back in third.
"I feel quite comfortable. I’ve been in this position a few times now and I’m getting, not used to it, but kind of," Gustavsson said.
"It’s very small margins that decide if you win or not and hopefully tomorrow, the odds are in my favour.
"A win would mean quite a bit. I’ve been trying for a few years, so I’ll do my best and see what happens."
Folke, a second season LET player from Saby, Sweden, who recorded a career best finish of tied second in the Joburg Ladies Open in March, also shot a second round of 66.
"I played great today and hit some great shots," said Folke, after signing for a scorecard featuring an eagle, four birdies and a bogey.
"On the 16th, I hit a great drive and it’s playing into the wind, so it’s a bit longer than usual. I hit my 3-wood to a metre and a half and made the putt for eagle."
MacLaren, who finished second after losing a playoff in this event last year, carded a bogey-free 68.
She said: "There wasn’t quite as much good stuff as yesterday, but I kept the mistakes off the card. The first was a big bonus because I hit a 4-iron in there. I holed a nice one, which set the tone for the day. I didn’t play the second great, but I made a good up and down, so put myself in a good position."
With three LET victories to her name, she is the most experienced of the top three.
"That’s a massive thing, but everybody who wins has to get their first win at some point," she said, adding:
"I was in a similar situation last year and things didn’t pan out. You’ve got to be patient. Even if it’s not going great in the beginning, there’s still lots of time."
Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom and Laura Fuenfstueck of Germany are tied for fourth on seven under par, with Austrian Emma Spitz in sixth.
World number five, Celine Boutier from France, shot a two-under par 69 to sit in a share of 18th place on three under par, seven shots off the pace.
The Solheim Cup star said: "I still feel a bit frustrated with my game. My long game hasn’t been as solid as I normally expect it to be, so I haven’t been able to hit as many fairways and haven’t been able to score as well.
"In the wind, it takes a lot more energy in thinking and in hitting shots, so I don’t like it when it’s too windy, but a little bit of wind is a nice challenge.
"Hopefully, I’ll have room to make a move. I think this course, if you’re striking it well, it’s very scoreable, so you never know."
