Monnet four up after three

French rookie Marine Monnet displayed a
maturity beyond her years today when she fired a one under par 71 in
atrocious conditions to extend her lead to four shots going into the final
round of the £150,000 Waterford Crystal Ladies Irish Open.

Monnet carded three birdies and two bogeys over an extremely damp Faithlegg
GC and leads on seven under par 209 from in-form Swede Sophie Gustafson, who
also posted 71.

With most of the leaderboard struggling in the driving rain and swirling
winds, Austria's Natascha Fink took outright possession of third place on
one under the card following her two over par 74.

"It feels like I'm in a dream, I didn't think I could play that well in
those conditions," said a delighted Monnet.

"I've never played in weather like that before. It was worst between the
eighth and 15th holes and I just concentrated on keeping the ball on the
fairway. It was very, very tough and very tiring."

Two ahead at the start of play, Monnet got the best possible start when she
chipped to eight feet for a birdie at the first, which she followed with an
impressive run of eight straight pars.

Another birdie at the 11th, when she holed out from 12 feet, was immediately
cancelled out by a bogey at the 12th when she missed the fairway off the tee
and was forced to chip back on.

A wayward drive accounted for another dropped shot on the 17th, but the
21-year-old Parisian responded superbly at the last where she hit a soft six
iron to five feet for birdie.

Monnet's outstanding amateur resume includes victories in last season's

Vagliano Trophy and British Amateur Championship, but tomorrow's final round
represents uncharted territory for the first-year professional.

"I'm nervous, I'm excited, I'm still young and that's normal," added Monnet,
who already has three top-10 finishes to her name this season.

"But I'm very lucky to have such a good caddie. He'll help me to stay calm
tomorrow and to enjoy it. Many times today he told me to relax and try to
enjoy myself. Without Terry (Mundy) I would not be here now.

"I may have a four shot lead but I realise that can disappear very quickly.
Tomorrow it's important that I focus on my own game. I've never played with
Sophie (Gustafson) though I know all about her. I'm very excited about
playing with Sophie but I must concentrate on my own performance tomorrow."

If Monnet succeeds in winning her maiden professional title tomorrow, she
will also receive a spot in next week's highly lucrative Evian Masters, a
joint-sanctioned event with the LPGA Tour with £1 million prize money up for
grabs.

Gustafson's card included five birdies, the pick of which came at the par
five 14th when she splashed out of a bunker to 12 feet before draining the
putt.

Like Monnet, the powerful Swede also got off to a good start, driving to a
greenside bunker at the first and holing out from three feet for birdie.

"Considering the weather, which was horrendous, I'm very pleased - anything
under par was a great score out there today," said Gustafson, already a
champion on both sides of the Atlantic this year.

"Tomorrow I'll just play my natural game and see what happens. I've never
played with Marine before and don't know much about her.

"She's obviously a very good player, but she's also a rookie and will
probably be a little nervous. I'll try to put some pressure on her early on
and see what happens."

With two victories under her belt this season - the Chick-fil-A on the LPGA
Tour and last month's Italian Open - Gustafson is enjoying a rich vein of
form and will start tomorrow favourite in most people's eyes.

Monnet and Gustafson will be joined in tomorrow's final three ball by
Austria's Fink, who managed to card three birdies as she battled against the
elements to a four over 76.

Pre-tournament favourite Laura Davies fared no better and dropped back into
a share of seventh on level par after posting her own 76.
Rookie Giulia Sergas, one of a promising crop of young Italians, moved from
11th overnight into joint fourth place after returning a one over 73.

Not surprisingly only three players managed to shoot below the Faithlegg
card - Monnet, Gustafson and England's Trish Johnson, whose 71 enabled her
to take a share of ninth place on two over par.