England's Annabel Dimmock will carry a two-shot lead into the final round of the KPMG Irish Open as hopes of a home winner all but evaporated at Carton House on Saturday.
Dimmock has improved in every round on the O’Meara Course, carding 72-66-65, and the latter score has left her on 16-under-par, two clear of Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom.
Italy's Alessandra Fanali and Spain’s Luna Sobron Galmes sit in share of third place on 12-under par after they both carded 70s on Saturday.
Cavan’s Leona Maguire is some way back on five-under while amateur Anna Abom, the only other home player from 13 starters to make the cut, finished on two-over.
Maguire had sparked thoughts of a third-round charge in front of huge galleries with an opening birdie, but she was unable to build on that momentum with a par-dominated card that featured just one more birdie to go along with a bogey on the 12th.
"I haven't done much wrong this week, I just haven’t done enough right," Maguire told RTÉ Sport’s Greg Allen after completing her round.
Maguire’s approach play couldn’t be faulted with 17 greens in regulation, but her putting – which she feels just needs a "few tweaks" ahead of the upcoming Solheim Cup – proved her undoing.
"I feel like for the third day in a row, I’ve shot as (poorly) as I could have.
"I actually played, gave myself a lot of chances today, a lot more chances than I did yesterday even.
"Holed a nice one on the first and thought that was us off and running but never really holed anything at all.
"Kept giving myself chances, kept giving myself a lot of looks, I just didn’t hole any at all."
Dimmock had no such issues, beginning with a birdie on the first before making further birdies on holes four, seven and nine.
A huge crowd applauds Leona Maguire as she completes her third round at the Irish Open. The Cavan golfer is currently eight behind with the leaders still on the course. Dublin teenager Anna Abom fell to two-over par after her round.
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 31, 2024
Live now on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player. pic.twitter.com/UJqYOyx02d
She added another birdie on the tenth before finishing in style with three birdies in her final four holes to seal the best round of the week.
"It’s hard to sum up," said Dimmock, who is searching for her second LET title.
"I actually lost count of my score.
"I asked the scorer coming off 18 what did I shoot today because I was thinking after, was it a putt to beat my own course record? I knocked that birdie in on 18 which felt good. I’m very happy.
"I actually played really well on the first day as well, but I missed a lot of putts. I unfortunately had a three-putt, I got a bit frustrated when I wasn’t holing anything. I had a 20-footer, and I banged it six foot past and three-putted.
"It was one of those rounds I could never get going. I played just as good as I did today and the day before, but then after the first round I went on the putting green. My putting felt a tiny bit off, I didn’t have my normal feels with it, and I went and sorted it out."
Amateur Abom struggled with a third-round 78 that left her on two-over, but she still came off the course full of enthusiasm.
"The support I've got this week has been amazing," she told RTÉ Sport, with the crowd of 12,051 making it the highest single day attendance at the tournament since it came back onto the LET calendar in 2022.
"It’s only grown; today there was actually more people out watching, I was signing loads of autographs coming off 18 so even though I didn’t quite score as well as I did the first two days, I still enjoyed the round just as much. What an experience."
The 18-year-old only received a late invite to compete and it came on the back of a tough run of competitions where her sole under-par round in her last five starts came in the AIG Irish Girls' Amateur Close Plate, but the last few days have delivered a timely reminder of her talent.
"I think I definitely doubted myself this season. I didn’t have great tournaments in July. This has definitely given me a confidence boost.
"I have proven to myself this week that my game is good enough to compete at this level."
Watch the Women's Irish Open on Sunday from 2pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
