Caroline Hedwall produced a stunning second round of six under par 65 to take a one stroke lead into the final round of the Finnair Masters in Finland.  

The 22-year-old Swede carded an eagle, five birdies and a bogey on an afternoon of blazing sunshine at Helsinki Golf Club to sit at eight under par after 36 holes.

She leads by one over Frenchwoman Anne-Lise Caudal, who shot 70 despite struggling with a wrist injury, while Christel Boeljon from the Netherlands and Swede Carin Koch were two shots further back in a tie for third.

The 2010 event champion Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa finished a further stroke behind alongside first round co-leader Titiya Plucksataporn of Thailand, Sophie Giquel-Bettan of France and Scotland’s Lynn Kenny.

Jenni Kuosa was the leading Finnish player on one under, while home favourite Minea Blomqvist and fellow Finn Kaisa Ruuttila made the cut by one.

Barsebäck’s Hedwall, a rookie who celebrated her maiden victory on the Ladies European Tour at the Allianz Ladies Slovak Open a month ago, achieved further international recognition when she won the inaugural PowerPlay Golf event at Celtic Manor in Wales a day later, before finishing equal second at the Deloitte Dutch Ladies Open, all within eight days.

With her twin sister Jacqueline on caddie duties, Hedwall continued her rich vein of form at the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open, finishing in a tie for seventh a fortnight ago.

She birdied her first two holes at the Finnair Masters on Friday – the 10th and 11th – picking up a further shot at the 14th.

She then eagled the par-five 17th after hitting an excellent tee shot followed by a six-iron into the green to five metres for a back nine total of five under par.

Carlota Ciganda celebrates her hole in one.

A three-putt bogey at the third was followed by birdies at the sixth and ninth to complete her superb round.  

“I started off really good on the back nine, my front nine. I was five under and made an eagle on 17, which was nice,” Hedwall said.

“I putted better today. I holed a few longer putts in the beginning and then I hit it pretty close to give myself a lot of opportunities. I would say that’s the difference. I’m in the lead by one right now and I think I have a good chance.”

Ranked fourth on the Henderson Money List after 10 events played in this her first season on tour, Hedwall is a fair way from making The European Solheim Cup team via the European standings. However, she would clearly relish the opportunity to represent her continent and said: “It’s not really a goal for the season. It’s more of a dream.

“It will be hard to play; I think I need to get a wildcard for it but of course. I’m ready for sure. I would love to play and I know that when I play against better players I always try to keep up with them and usually I do.”

Another talented young professional, Carlota Ciganda from Spain, recorded her first career hole-in-one during the second round of the Finnair Masters.

She used an eight-iron to ace the fourth hole from 134 metres. It was her third ever hole-in-one and she said, “It was a great shot: I was very lucky.” She was still smiling after completing a round of 70 to finish tied for 27th at one over par.