(Oslo, August 3 2002) England’s Laura Davies fired a best of day four under par 68 and soared to the top of the leaderboard on six under par after three rounds of the £220,000 P4 Norwegian Masters in the sweltering heat at Oslo GolfKlubb.

The 38-year-old former world number one from Surrey cruised around this beautifully scenic landscape by Lake Bogstad lobbing in six birdies during a round reminiscent of years past.

Taylor – no leader boards

“I am in a perfect position now because I have to get points for the Solheim Cup, but my first thought this weekend is to win the P4 Norwegian Masters and then I’ll start thinking about how many points I have.

“I am starting to pick up confidence again and to get into the team is a priority because nobody has the right to a pick and I want to get there by right.”

“I reckon I’ll need to shoot another four under par tomorrow and get to ten under as there are some good players up there now. I know that Kirsty (Taylor) is going to make a lot of pars and Karine also knows how to win.

“The standard is getting better and better each year on Tour and I think there are about 40 players here capable of winning now, where just a few years ago, there was perhaps only five or six each week.

“Gone are the days when I just had to play half decent and win, now the standard is a lot higher.”

Taylor fired three birdies in her faultless 69 and despite not playing the par fives as powerfully and dramatic as her big hitting countrywoman, she proved that scorecards do not paint pictures with scrambling birdies at the second and tenth, adding a more standard birdie at the 14th to move to five under par.

“I haven’t been looking at any leader boards today which is unusual for me,” said Taylor, whose best finish on Tour was second place at the 2000 Weetabix Women’s British Open.

“I decided to do that after Laura got off to a good start and then I just wanted to hang on to her coat tails, and I’ll see if I can manage that tomorrow and see what happens.”

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