third day of the World Amateur Team Championships here at Marine Drive.

Judithanne Astwood and Kim Marshall each shot 80, while Madeline Joell finished with an 85 to provide Bermuda with their best day at this year's championships and one of their best-ever performances at a World Amateur, according to captain Glenda Todd.

"I am very happy with the way they played today,'' Todd said. "Those two 80s are beautiful scores, and I am happy with Madeline's 85 too. She really battled to keep her score down. She was wild off the tee all day, and could very easily have shot another 93 like on Thursday.

"It's one of the few times we have ever put two good scores like that together,'' she added. "In the past, when one player has scored really well, the other two scores have been high. But we shot 83-84 in the first round here and then we had those two 80s today. I am very pleased.'' Bermuda's 160 total leaves the team on 497, good for 28th spot in the 31-country field ahead of Guatemala, Hong Kong and Costa Rica and six shots behind Brazil. Bermuda's score yesterday was 24th best on the day.

A spectacular finish is shaping up for today, as top country Spain are on 442 while Great Britain/Ireland, New Zealand and France are each a shot back.

Australia and the United States are another four shots back on 447. Sweden's Annika Sorenstam has the individual lead on 217 after a 74 yesterday. Catriona Lambert of GBI is second on 219 after a four-over 76 in the third round.

Bermuda's performances yesterday could have been ever better. Astwood set a personal best in World Amateur play with her 80, but could easily have been in the 70s -- she bogeyed the last two holes. And Marshall had five three-putts on a day when she played the last six holes one under par en route to a fine one-over 37 on the back side.

Astwood three-putted from 10 feet on the 17th, and then left a downhill putt eight inches short of the cup on the 18th as she attempted to break 80 for the first time in five World Amateur appearances.

Ironically, putting was one of the fine points of her game yesterday. She one-putted eight greens.

"I'm getting there -- maybe tomorrow I will break 80,'' she said. "I should easily have been in the 70s today but I realised I could break 80 as I walked up the 17th fairway and I started playing for score.

"I really wanted that par on the last hole but I could have made it easy on myself if I only made the par at 17. That would have taken the pressure off a little.'' Astwood was at even par after five holes yesterday, thanks in part to a 40-foot birdie putt on the second hole. "I was only putting to get the ball close, but it went into the hole,'' she chuckled.

She made the turn at 40 after a double-bogey on the ninth and had five pars in seven holes on the back before finishing bogey, bogey.

Marshall made the turn at 43 and had lost another two shots to par when she rolled a six-footer in for birdie on the 13th. "That helped my confidence ,'' she said. "I thought you can put now just go and do it.'' She followed the birdie with pars at 14, 15, 16, and then dropped another birdie putt at 17, this time from eight feet. Marshall hit seven of nine greens in regulation on the back nine after hitting only six greens during Thursday's disappointing round of 89.

"I was concentrating better today and I really tried to fight back after shooting so badly on the front nine,'' she said. "I got my game together on the back, and putted a little better. When I don't putt well it seems to affect the other parts of my game as well.'' Joell, who ripped her left thumbnail off earlier this week, was in considerable pain yesterday.

"Today I was letting the club go with my right to take the pressure off my left thumb,'' said the right-hander. "The injury couldn't have happened to a worse finger because all of the pressure is on it. Yesterday, I was too drugged up and didn't know whether I was coming or going. Today I only took two painkillers because I thought I could play through the pain. But it bothered me all day.'' Joell played the front nine in 44 after a triple-bogey at the ninth, but battled back with a 41 on the back side, including a birdie at the 140-yard 14th hole for the second straight day.