One of the leaders for end-of-season Race to Costa del Sol honours, Kyriacou produced a solid four-under-par 68 to be two shots off the lead at Kristianstad Golf Club.
Kyriacou shares second place with Atthaya Thitikul, who leads her Australian rival in the overall standings on the Ladies European Tour.
They proved their class once again on Thursday, with a pair of strong performances as Wales’ Chloe Williams made the early running with a six-under-par 66.
Having been grouped together alongside Marianne Skarpnord, the competition was fierce throughout the day, with both players grabbing a birdie at the first to get the ball rolling.
“It’s a new course for me, but I really like it and it’s really fitting to my eye so hopefully I can shoot a few more low ones.” – Steph Kyriacou.
Another birdie on the fifth saw Kyriacou finish the front nine in 34, while Thitikul rolled in three more birdie putts on the third, seventh and eighth – as well as dropping a shot on the sixth – to get to the turn three shots under par.
And it looked as if the Thai talent was going to finish a shot behind Williams at the end of the day after birdies on 10 and 13, only for a missed par putt on the final hole of her round seeing her sit two behind the leader heading into Friday.
For Kyriacou, it was a much more up and down back nine, with four birdies and two bogeys on her card – including a dropped shot on the 15th after finding the water – but leaves her right in the mix after 18 holes.
“It was a good day, I started with a birdie and finished with a birdie so I was happy with that, I think I’m in a good spot but there’s still three days to go,” said the 2020 LET Rookie of the Year.
“It’s a new course for me, but I really like it and it’s really fitting to my eye so hopefully I can shoot a few more low ones.
“The wind wasn’t too high today so it made it easier than the practice rounds.”
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