England’s Mimi Rhodes, Spain’s Nuria Iturrioz, and Italy’s Alessia Nobilio will all head into the final round of the Dutch Ladies Open tied at the top of the leaderboard, after impressive performances on Saturday saw them all climb to six-under par at Goyer Golf & Country Club.
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For Rhodes and Nobilio – both rookies on the Ladies European Tour (LET) – it was another chance to showcase their talent amongst the packed field.
The current Order of Merit leader secured six birdies on her scorecard, positioning herself for what could be a third title in her rookie season – a remarkable achievement for the 23-year-old.
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“It was really good today,” said Rhodes. “I played some solid golf today. My putts started dropping early on the back nine, and that helped settle me. From there, I just kept the momentum going and had fun out there.”
The two-time LET winner started the day one shot back from overnight leaders – Sofie Kibsgaard and Dorota Zalewska. Rhodes had a relatively slow start to the second round but then secured back-to-back birdies on the 7th and 8th holes, followed by another two on holes 10 and 11 which set the tone for a low scoring round.
Rhodes went home for a couple of days after the Aramco Korea Championship and saw her sister back in the UK.
“We went into London and just had a day off from golf which was really nice. We used some of the Korean skincare and I just caught up on sleep. I also caught up with an old friend. We went on a run, out for lunch, and on the tube which I hadn’t been on in a while so was good to reset. Just spending time with her was really nice.”
The rookie said that having just a couple of days away from golf definitely helped leading into this week. “I got to see the course a couple of days ago when I arrived, and I really liked the look of it and layout.”
Before Korea, the 23-year-old had been working a lot on her putting. “I came in with more of an open mind without putting too much pressure on myself. They just started dropping today which is good.”
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Rhodes currently leads the Order of Merit on 1,046.88 points and admits this season has already exceeded expectations.
“Not in a million years did I think this would be how my rookie season would go. The support has been incredible – so many people have reached out. It’s given me a huge confidence boost heading into the bigger events. I’m just really happy.”
This week, she’s also enjoying some family time in the Netherlands, with her brother and his fiancée here for support.
“I picked them up from the airport and we passed through Amsterdam. We had dinner, though it was late, so we didn’t get to explore much. I did see the canal boats though, which was really cool. Hopefully we can go back this afternoon.”
Meanwhile, Nobilio carded a bogey-free round to climb into a share of the lead. Starting from the 10th tee, the 23-year-old showed great composure in windy conditions, securing back-to-back birdies on both the front and back nine.
“It was so good today,” said Nobilio. “I hit so many good shots and made putts when I needed to. The main thing is I was really patient in the wind, so I’m proud of that.”
After battling inconsistency last season, her place in contention feels especially meaningful.
“I’ve struggled with my game a little last year, so to be here in contention is massive for me. Mimi and I are good friends – we’ve played together a lot in junior golf – so I’m excited for tomorrow.”
She’s no stranger to the Netherlands, having visited a few times before. After landing on Monday, she even made a quick trip into Amsterdam.
“I feel like we always end up searching for Italian restaurants wherever we go,” she said.
Joining them at six-under-par is Iturrioz, who posted one of the day’s most impressive rounds—a six-under-par 66. The four-time LET winner, also starting on the 10th tee, closed with five birdies in her last seven holes.
“It was a good day. The course has a lot of trees, so it’s tricky. You really have to think about distances. I made more putts and trusted the process,” she said.
Iturrioz has been focusing on improving her wedge play and mental approach, especially after dealing with an injury earlier in the season.
“I couldn’t practice much before Korea, so I used that time to work on my mindset. I’m trying to be better every day in all areas of my game.”
She’s also enjoying her time in the Netherlands:
“I love Amsterdam. It’s so green and the bikes everywhere are great. This is my fourth time here – I really like it.”
