After three rounds at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, Maude-Aimee Leblanc is one shot off the lead. The Sherbrooke, Que. The native shot a six-under 66 at Dundonald Links and the fairways of Lydia Ko and Celine Boutier. “I’ve been hitting the ball solid since the beginning of the week,” LeBlanc said. “I love playing in Scotland. I don’t know what that is, but it is [a] different golf course, different conditions and I love everything here.” For the third straight round, Leblanc was picked on the greens, using just 28 shots. She has played under 30 shots in all three rounds so far and said her prowess on the putting surfaces is a team effort. “My bestie and I do a good job of reading the greens,” she said. “Good together. I have a good feel for the speed on the greens, so I feel like this is a good recipe for putting.” Leblanc has a lot of birdie opportunities due to hitting a lot of greens. For the week, it has landed at 45 out of 54. She has also made 17 birdies this week, nine of those coming in her round on Saturday. A week ago, Brooke Henderson won the Amundi Evian Championship for her second major and 12th LPGA title. She was scheduled to play this week but withdrew after the win, hoping to rest for next week’s Women’s British Open, the final major of the season. Leblanc has yet to win on the LPGA Tour and has just three career top 10s. But two of those came this season. Two years ago, Leblanc, who was part of the 2011 NCAA-winning team at Purdue University, announced her retirement from tour golf, but returned to play last year on the Epson Tour, bringing with her a renewed perspective and more confidence. She played well enough to earn a promotion to the LPGA Tour and is currently ranked 62nd in the CME Globe rankings. “I always felt like I had more to achieve,” she said of her return to the LPGA Tour. “This break was really necessary. People underestimate how tough it is mentally and physically out here. It’s important to take good care of your mental and physical health.” On Sunday, she goes into the final round with a terrific shot to record her first victory. He knows it will be both a mental and a physical battle. Two months ago, he began working with a sports psychologist trying to turn what he felt was a good game into good grades. This will be tested in the final round. “The adrenaline tends to go up when I’m in situations like these,” he admitted, “so tomorrow it’s going to be important to try to stay calm and focus on my breathing and try to slow everything down.” LeBlanc will play in the final group alongside Boutier and Co.
