French flair leads the way in Joburg Ladies Open

The Le Tricolore of Camille Chevalier, Celine Herbin and Agathe Laisne will tee off in Sunday’s final group of the Joburg Ladies Open as the top three golfers on the leaderboard, with South Africa’s Casandra Alexander determined to break up this French connection.

The French trio took advantage of a rare day of sunshine at Randpark Golf Club, with Chevalier and Herbin tied for the lead on 16 under par, and Laisne one shot behind them.

Chevalier signed for a third round of 67 on the Firethorn course, and Herbin a 68. Laisne posted a 65.
 
Alexander leads the South African challenge four shots adrift of the leaders following her 67 as she continues her pursuit for a second Joburg Ladies Open title.
 
“I’ve been in the hunt a couple of times now and know it can go your way or it can’t. I’ll give it my best shot and hopefully it’s good enough,” said Alexander, who won this title back in 2021 when she was still forging her way on Tour.

On Sunday she’ll tee off as the 41^st-ranked women’s golfer in the world and the current number one on the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit.
 
“I was so young in 2021, and a little chubby. But this tournament has grown so much, and I’ve grown so much playing it. It’s nice to look back and see how far I’ve come,” she said.
 
At the top of the leaderboard, Herbin will bring a tremendous amount of experience to the final round with her 15 years on Tour.

And she needed every bit of that experience on Saturday as she had to overcome a double-bogey start.
 
“I’m glad with how I ended up. The truth is that the best time for a double bogey is the first hole. You have 17 more holes to recover. That’s how you have to look at it. After the first I told my caddie we still have 35 holes of this tournament left so there are plenty of opportunities. I birdied the second hole, and I kept fighting and creating opportunities. I got a good break on 13 with a very good birdie there. And then I hit two very good shots to 20 feet on 14 and that was a nice putt to make for eagle. That helped a lot for the round.”
 
Alongside her, Chevallier is looking for her second Ladies European Tour title after playing her way into a share of the lead using a strategy she calls “lion mode”.
 
“I was in lion mode out there today. But you can’t be in lion mode all the time. You have to activate it at the right time. I was just focused on being patient and not worrying about birdies,” she said.
 
With three French golfers in the final pairing, Herbin is certainly looking forward to the final day.
“I don’t know what’s going on this week. There are a lot of French golfers at the top which is very nice. We’ll be all French golfers in the last group so we’re going to have fun.”

Round 3 Leaderboard

After three rounds, this is how the leaderboard shapes up as we look forward to the final round @camchevalier and @celineherbingolf will head into the final round with the share of the lead.#sunshineladiestour #Wegotgame #joburgladiesopen pic.twitter.com/ODYv6hQpVj — Sunshine Ladies Tour (@SLadiesTour) April 18, 2026

SCORES

203 - Camille Chevalier (FRA) 70 66 67

203 - Celine Herbin (FRA) 68 67 68

204 - Agathe Laisne (FRA) 66 73 65

206 - Kajsa Arwefjall (SWE) 71 67 68

206 - Kirsten Rudgeley (AUS) 70 67 69, Brianna Navarrosa (USA) 66 69 71

207 - Casandra Alexander 69 71 67

208 - Pia Babnik (SVN) 68 71 69

208 - Ariane Klotz (FRA) 66 72 70

209 - Cara Gainer (ENG) 69 71 69

210 - Amelia Garvey (NZL) 71 71 68

210 - Blanca Fernandez (ESP) 70 73 67

211 - Morgane Metraux (SUI) 69 72 70

211 - Sofie Kibsgaard (DEN) 71 70 70, Emma Falcher (FRA) 70 70 71, Hannah Screen (ENG) 69 74 68, Patricia Isabel Schmidt (GER) 70 73 68, Laura Beveridge (SCO) 67 72 72, Tina Mazarino (NOR) 69 69 73, Maha Haddioui (MAR) 69 68 74

212 - Danielle du Toit 71 70 71

212 - Luna Sobron Galmes (ESP) 69 73 70, Verena Gimmy (GER) 70 71 71, Alice Hewson (ENG) 70 72 70, Alessia Nobilio (ITA) 72 68 72

213 - Anna Zanusso (ITA) 71 70 72

213 - Sophie Witt (GER) 70 69 74, Vanessa Knecht (SUI) 70 73 70, Ana Pelaez Trivino (ESP) 71 67 75

214 - Celina Sattelkau (GER) 73 69 72

214 - Momoka Kobori (NZL) 71 71 72, Gabrielle Venter 72 70 72, Olivia Cowan (GER) 71 71 72, Anna Foster (IRL) 71 69 74, Nobuhle Dlamini (SWZ) 72 71 71, Annabell Fuller (ENG) 71 72 71, Alexandra Forsterling (GER) 72 71 71, Corinne Viden (SWE) 71 73 70, Anna Huang (CAN) 74 70 70, Jess Baker (BRI) 67 70 77, Pranavi Urs (IND) 70 74 70

215 - Cara Gorlei 73 68 74

215 - Lydia Hall (WAL) 68 71 76, Aunchisa Utama (THA) 72 71 72, Marta Sanz Barrio (ESP) 75 69 71

216 - Ginnie Ding (HKG) 72 69 75

216 - Kelsey Bennett (AUS) 70 73 73, Justice Bosio (AUS) 67 76 73, Louisa Carlbom (SWE) 69 74 73, Ana Dawson (IMN) 72 72 72, Dorthea Forbrigd (NOR) 69 75 72

217 - Emie Peronnin (FRA) 69 73 75

217 - Darcey Harry (WAL) 71 72 74

218 - Lucie Vachova (CZE) 72 69 77

218 - Madelene Stavnar (NOR) 70 73 75, Anna Morgan (USA) 72 72 74

219 - April Angurasaranee (THA) 70 70 79

220 - Charlotte Heath (ENG) 72 72 76

220 - Zane Kleynhans 73 71 76

224 - Hannah Darling (SCO) 74 69 81

IMAGE: Camille Chevalier © Sunshine Ladies Tour/Perfect Exposure