Koerstz Madsen staying calm

Nanna Koerstz Madsen will be focusing on her own game rather than worrying about scoreboard pressure as she sets her sights on a maiden career major on the final day of the 2021 AIG Women’s Open.

The Dane will be part of the final pairing alongside fellow Scandinavian Anna Nordqvist on Sunday after a four-under round of 68 on moving day took her to -9 for the Championship, a share of the overnight lead.

A superb eagle at the par-5 12th was the highlight for the 26-year-old, who continually reeled in her playing partner Yealimi Noh as the pair battled it out at the top of the leaderboard.

Noh lost ground over the tricky final three holes, dropping four shots, but Koerstz Madsen held her nerve to par all three and put herself in prime position following a steady display which included just one dropped shot, a bogey at the 10th.

She will now look to improve on her previous best major performance, which came with a tied third-place finish at the ANA Inspiration earlier this year, and believes staying calm will be key when she heads out with a player who has two majors to her name.

“I'm happy with the round,” she said. “I played quite steady out there. Hit a lot of greens.

“I would have liked somewhere closer to the pin but also made some good putts.

“I've just got to try and calm down my nerves and remember that I'm playing good golf right now, so that's what I'm going to try and focus on.”

Koerstz Madsen set the tone on Saturday with three birdies on the front nine to quickly build on a promising overnight position.

The third of those saw her escape rough in style on the ninth and she admitted the conditions were not as bad as they may have appeared despite the weather worsening through the day.

“That lie was actually really nice,” she said. “Obviously when it's raining, it's a little bit heavier but you can get some really nice lies in the rough and you can also get some tough ones. But it was not too bad right there

“If it's a little downwind, they [the greens] are still going to kick quite a lot but it does help that they are softening up.”

Koerstz Madsen and Nordqvist will tee off at 2.45pm on Sunday and a thrilling finish awaits at Carnoustie.