Aditi Ashok in second spot in Kenya Open

Indian golfer Aditi Ashok on Saturday inched towards a top bracket finish as she shot five-under 67 in the third round of the Magical Kenya Ladies Open here. Aditi, a runner-up at Andalucia Open de Espana two weeks ago, was six-under for 54 holes, but in a pack of four that is seven shots behind runaway leader, the Swedish teenager Julia Engström.

Among other Indians, Tvesa Malik (73) dropped from overnight T-8 to T-16 at even par for 54 holes, while Diksha Dagar (70) was T-35 and Astha Madan (76) T-66. Ashok and Vayson de Pradenne both shot 67s to stay in the hunt but said that they would just be looking to enjoy the final round of the season on Sunday.

Both bogeyed the 16th hole while Henseliet dropped a shot on the 18th. In contrast, Wolf birdied the last to join them at six-under. Wolf's 66 was the equal best round of the day, but she felt that a second victory following her Hero Women's Indian Open title would be just out of reach.

Engstrom continued to dominate and built a seven-stroke lead, heading into the final round. The 18-year-old, looking for her breakthrough victory on the Ladies European Tour, carded a two-under-par 70 at Vipingo Ridge, 30km from Mombasa. Engstrom, the 2018 Rookie of the Year, was six strokes ahead at halfway and is now seven clear of Christine Wolf, Aditi Ashok, Astrid Vayson de Pradenne and Esther Henseleit, who sit at six-under.