Europeans chase Pauler Creamer

England 's Laura Davies and Karine Icher from France headed up the European charge in the third round of the $2.5million Evian Masters.

Icher fired a four under par 68 to share second position with Davies, who had a 70, at seven under par for the tournament.

Both players finished seven shots behind the runaway leader, Paula Creamer, a fiery young American rookie, who has already claimed one victory this season on the LPGA Tour, at the Sybase Classic, in May.

The 18-year-old from Florida carded a six under par 66 to finish at 14 under par after 54 holes (202), while her playing partner Annika Sorenstam, had to settle for a level par 72.

Sorenstam lurks eight shots off the lead in fourth position setting herself a tough but not impossible task for tomorrow: “Tomorrow I have to play really good.  I got to shoot 64 or something like that or even better,” she said.

“I really did not play very well today unfortunately.  I hit a few bad shots and it was a tough day at the office really.  I am going to go and work on a few things and hopefully get it straightened out.”

Despite trailing seven shots behind Creamer, Davies was not feeling defeated: “This is the sort of course where you can either go low or you can drop a few, so it's a good catching up course; if you're going to catch up somewhere, then this is the one,” she said.

Icher, who finished fourth at this year's US Women's Open, revealed modest goals.

“I want to be in the top ten this week, that's my main objective. I try to set realistic objectives. Being in the top ten is possible. It's not realistic to say I'm going to win the Evian Masters when I'm not really in the shape to do it,” Icher said.

Creamer has already let one victory slip away, at the Wegmans Rochester International tournament, where she finished second behind a fast charging Lorena Ochoa on the final day.

Comparing it to her maiden victory at the Sybase Classic, she commented: “I was one back there and now I have a pretty big lead, but I always remember Wegmans this year where I had a five-shot lead with 12 or eight holes to go and Lorena played the best golf that I have ever seen in those eight holes or whatever.  I know that anything can happen out on the golf course and I am just going to try and get the lead as big as I can and as fast as I can. 

“Before I hit my first professional ball, I wanted to make Solheim Cup team.  And with that I knew I had to win or else I would not be able to make it, but Solheim Cup was the main thing.  Rookie of the Year was in there.  That was the one thing I wanted because if I did that then everything else kind of took care of itself with Rookie of the Year and winning.  I want to win a major as well, that was one of my goals.  One more left.”

Fighting talk from the young American leading into the final round tomorrow. 

Elsewhere, Iben Tinning, a four time winner on the Robe di Kappa Ladies European Tour, won a 1kg gold  bar from tournament sponsors UBS, for her first professional hole-in-one in the third round today. She hit a four wood at the 196 yard 14 th hole. 

“I was having a total nightmare of a day, a few double bogeys and a par and I was just about to say, ‘I've had enough now, this is a classic'. Every time I play this course I do well and then all of a sudden I get a few double bogeys. I was very frustrated, then I hit a perfect shot and it went in the hole, so I was totally surprised,” said the Dane.

The gold bar is worth just under £8000, and Tinning said: “I'm going to sell it, so I can have the cash!”

She has had an ace on two previous occasions, within the same month, both as an 18 year old amateur.

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