Valentine Derrey takes one stroke lead

France’s Valentine Derrey displaced South Korea’s IK Kim at the top of the leaderboard in the Helsingborg Open with a second successive 68.

The 26-year-old Parisian’s eight birdies and four bogeys lifted her to eight under, one ahead of Kim and Order of Merit leader Lee-Anne Pace.

Sweden’s Camilla Lennarth is a shot further back with compatriots Pernilla Lindberg and Solheim Cup star Caroline Hedwall one behind her at Vasatorp Golf Club.

“I stayed calm and patient and that’s what I’ve been struggling with,” Derrey told ladieseuropeantour.com.

World number 10 Kim was happy enough with a round of 72 in testing windy conditions. “I think it was difficult, a totally different golf course to yesterday,” she said.

Meanwhile, Scotland scored another 4-1 win, this time over Austria, to reach the final of Flight B in the European women’s team championship at Bled Golf Club, Slovenia. Alison Bartlett (Royal Dornoch) and Kathleen Sutherland (Royal Montrose) won the foursome 4-3. Mary Smith (Tain) won 4 and 3 while Fiona De Vries (St Rule) was a 6 and 4 winner. With the overall result decided, the matches involving Sheena Wood (Aberdeen Ladies) and Lorna Bennett (Ladybank) were declared halved by mutual consent. Scotland now play Belgium, 3.5-1.5 winners over Switzerland, for the Flight B championship.

Elsewhere, Michael Stewart from Troon was the only Scot to survive the 36-hole cut in the Alps Tour’s Asiago Open in Italy. Stewart birdied the short 17th to make it through with nothing to spare, ten shots behind another from the GB & I team of two years ago, Steven Brown (Wentworth). Brown leads by two on 10-under 130. Ellon’s Ross Cameron, Kris Nicol (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) and John Henry (Clydebank and Dist) all missed the cut.