Ursula Wikstrom (Finland) 68 (-4)

How satisfying is a round like that?


Finally! I have been struggling with my putting a lot lately and now finally it is working. I was getting the ball on the line and making a few putts. It’s not perfect yet but it’s getting much better.

How did you make the birdies?


The longest one was at the first and that was about 12 metres, something like that. The other ones were within five metres.

How did you make your bogey?


The bogey on 17, I hit a bad shot into a bunker, still had 40 metres to the pin and missed the putt. That’s how it is.

How are you finding being a mum on tour?


It is the first time that Erni has been with me this year. It’s nice. If my husband is at home he stays with him and at day care or otherwise with my parents.

Is this a special week for you?


My mum said earlier in the year when she saw the schedule that she wanted to come to Arras. She loves it here and anyway we were playing four weeks in a row and they need to come somewhere. Four weeks in a row is too much to be away from this cutie. My dad (Matti Tuutti) was on my bag and my mum was with him.

Do you usually play well here?


I don’t remember. I think I have played okay. I have been here every year and this is my sixth year on the tour.

Hopes for the tournament or is it too early?


Too early! We’ll see.

Samantha Head (England) 69 (-3)

How did you cope with the windy conditions?


To be honest I didn’t really notice. I played in the Pro Am yesterday and it was very windy. It was the same as yesterday.

How do you find this course?


I’ve played it I think 11 times that the tour’s been here. It’s different every year. This year it favours me a little bit because there’s run on the ball and the greens are stopping and that’s what I need.

How pleased are you with your game?


Good! I took a month off before Austria and its strange taking a month off in the middle of the season. Last week I was just getting back into it but you have a lot of swing thoughts. This week I thought I was just going to play with what I’ve got.

Have you been doing much work in the break?


Not really! I’ve just been resting with a bit of golf, but nothing too technical. When you come back after a break you get out of the tournament mode and you start thinking technically and it just doesn’t work.

Do you feel you made the right decision?


I’m glad I did because I’m now playing five out of six weeks.

Six birdies today.


I know! I missed a couple of putts from about two foot but I just thought that it is going to happen this week. I didn’t hole any particularly long putts but I holed some really slopey ones. I was practising that on the first day. They were breaking with three foot break. The second hole, the fourth, every birdie putt I had was a really slopey one except for nine.

When you played well in Norway you said you had been working on your putting.


I’m still doing it, yes! It’s a thing from America called “Aim Right”. You look at the middle of the hole and where the straight putt is. You work it out on a clock face. It really helped today, finding that straight line. You can buy a map that if you know the green speed on the stimp meter you can know how many centimetres left or right to hit it.

Do you have the map?


No! That’s too much for me! I work on feel.

Anna Tybring (Sweden) 69 (-3)

How happy are you with your round?


I’m very happy because I played very solid. I hit 16 greens and 31 putts so it was really good.

What was the difference today?


I just went out there and looked for a good target and hit it instead of thinking too much. I played a bit easier.

How satisfied are you with your season?


Not very. It’s not been as bad as last year but I want to be higher up than I am.

What do you like about this course?


It’s very good but you can never relax. This year I think its playing a bit shorter because the fairways are firm, which is good for me since I don’t hit it that far. I like it.

This is the last year in Arras before the tournament moves to Paris. What do you think about the move?


It’s strange. I hadn’t really played the course this year until today because I think this is my seventh year here. I just played three holes on Tuesday night and I like it. I like coming back to a course where you’ve been before because you know where to stay and how to play the course. It’s really nice.

Becky Brewerton (Wales) 70 (-2)

How was your round, in your opinion?


It was really good because I’ve never done very well here and it’s a bit of a mental challenge. I had a good start; birdied four, five and six. From then on it was steady. It could have been a couple better but I would have taken it at the start of the day. It was a tough day and the wind was really swirling and it was gusting.

Why is it a mental challenge?


Just because I’ve never done very well here. Last year I was here and I had to pull out because I wasn’t very well after the first round. Something always seems to go wrong and I don’t think I’ve ever come into this tournament playing well. I worked on a couple of things after Austria last week and I’m hitting it quite good so it makes a nice change to be in a good position here. Normally I struggle for whatever reason. I’ve never played well here before.

What did you work on after last week?


I was struggling a bit last week in Austria. I was hitting it all over the place and I videoed it and sent the videos of my swing to my coach. He told me to stop my hips turning because I was getting a bit lazy with my lower half so whenever I do that I always hit it everywhere. I managed to have a day on Monday at home to do some practise and it felt much better so it was good.

How did you make your birdies?


I birdied holes four and five, the two par fives. On hole four I hit my driver in the rough and I had to lay up to 100 yards to the pin. I hit a nice shot to six foot and holed the putt. On five I hit a really good drive. I only had a seven-iron into the green and two putted for a birdie. At six I hit a nice drive, had a nice distance of about 100 and knocked it close to a couple of feet. At 10 I hit a nice seven-iron into the green and holed a nice putt, a 15-footer.

How did you make the bogeys?


I missed an absolute tap-in on 16. It was literally close enough that I probably could have tapped it in but I marked it because I was on somebody’s line. I went to finish and it lipped out. Whether it was just a combination of a lapse of concentration or whatever, it was just one of those strange ones. At 11 I hit a nice drive and had a fairly straight forward shot into the green but just got behind it so it rolled into the bunker and didn’t hit a good bunker shot. Made a good five in the end there.

Marion Ricordeau (Am) (France) 71 (-1)

You were three-under after 15 so what happened over the closing stretch?


I had two bogeys on the last three holes.

Were you satisfied?


I’m pretty happy with what I did. I had a pretty good start and a pretty bad finish but I’m still happy. If I’d known before that I could have shot one-under I would have been very happy.

Does it help knowing the course from last year?


It helps a lot. I know which parts of the course I have to play and I remembered my good shots from last year.

Where do you live?


I am from Picardie. My home club is close to here, one hour away, but I work in Toulouse all year long. I am at the Federal Academie of Golf.

Do you study anything other than golf?


No, not any more. I am in the third year but I can stay in the Academie one more year.

When will you turn pro?


This year I think I will. I’m pretty impatient. I’m playing well at the moment so I think I can make it.