At the end of a day of unrelenting rain it was Curtis Cup Scot Pamela Pretswell and Chrisje De Vries from the Netherlands who led the 42 qualifiers with totals of 15-over-par 159 or better into Friday’s final two rounds.
Pretswell and De Vries are both on two-over-par 146, Pamela after a second-round, two-over-par 74, one of the best scores in the awful weather, and Chrisje after a 78.
Three other Scots survived the cut – Lothians pair Rachael Watton (Mortonhall), improving by seven shots despite the deluge with a splendid 75, and Jane Turner (Craigielaw), with a battling 77, both on 157 and Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) with an 81 for the limit mark of 159.
Bothwell Castle's Pamela Pretswell, pipped for the Austrian women’s open title two or three weeks ago, did well to salvage a 74 in such conditions to share the lead on 146 – but it looked like being an even better score with just a few holes to go to the warmth and comfort of the clubhouse.
Other Scots:
Alyson McKechin (Elderslie) had an 84 for 162.
Majorca-based (Lauren Mackin) had an 87 for 166.
Roseanne Niven (Crieff), winner of the British title only two years ago, had an 82 for 167 and Laura Murray finished 30 over par with a pair of 87s for 174.
Another Scotland international Louise Kenney (Pitreavie), who had a first-round 75, badly twisted an ankle in falling down some steps and was unable to play. With the weather as bad as it was, she was not complaining about having to rest in the clubhouse with her ankle strapped up.
LEADING QUALIFIERS
Par 144 (2x74).
146 Pamela Pretswell (Bothwell Castle) 72 74, Chrisje De Vries (Ned) 68 78.
147 Amy Boulden (Maesdu) 68 79.
148 Line Vedel Hansen (Den) 76 72, Bronte Law (Bramhall) 76 72.
151 Pia Halbit (Ger) 73 78, Alexandra Bonetti (Fra) 74 77.
152 Lara Katzy (Ger) 71 81.
153 Ann Lindner (Ger) 75 78, Heidi Baek (Felixstowe Ferry) 76 77, Charlotte Ellis (Minchinhampton) 78 75.
Other Scots:
156 Julie Yang (Kings Acre) 75 81 (jt 20th).
157 Rachael Watton (Mortonhall) 82 75, Jane Turner (Craigielaw) 80 77 (jt 23rd).
159 Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm) 78 81 (jt 37th).
MISSED THE CUT
161 Gillian Monteith (Portpatrick Dunskey) 78 83.
162 Alyson McKechin (Elderslie) 78 84.
166 Lauren Mackin (Majorca) 79 87.
167 Roseanne Niven (Crieff) 85 82.
174 Laura Murray (Alford) 87 87.
Retired (injured): Louise Kenney (Pitreavie) 75 -.
To read the full report go to the Gillian Kirkwood Website