GURUGRAM, Oct 21: Gaurika Bishnoi played an impressive back nine on the front side of the DLF Golf and Country Club to get into a four-way lead at the midway stage of the Hero Women’s Indian Open golf tournament, here on Friday.
Gaurika, 25, who has never missed the cut in four previous starts at the tournament, joined fellow Indian Amandeep Drall (67-72), Finland’s Noora Komulainen (67-72) and Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall (68-71) at five-under at the top of the leader board.
Lying sole fifth was another Swede Elin Arvidsson (68-72) at four-under.
On a day when almost all the players said that the pin positions were trickier than the first day, Gaurika brought home the best card at four-under 68. Only a dozen players shot in red numbers.
The Indian contingent had a fine day with 15 players, including three amateurs, making the cut to ensure weekend action.
The 2016 winner, Aditi Ashok stayed in the hunt despite missing a bunch of gettable putts. She shot a bogey-free 71 to get to three-under and was tied-sixth alongside England’s Meghan MacLaren (72-69), Spaniard Luna Sobron Galmes (69-72) and South African Nicole Garcia (69-72).
Gaurika started Day 2 on 10th tee on a none-too-happy note with bogeys on her first two holes. She got back the shots with birdies on 13th and 16th. Then on her second nine, she once again bogeyed on the first but the remaining eight holes saw her sink no less than five birdies at her home course.
“I didn’t have the best of starts today. I was two over through two holes but I made a birdie on my 4th hole (16th of the course) so the momentum came back. There was another good birdie on 16th and I was one under through the front nine,” Gaurika said.
On the back nine, she excelled with five birdies and one bogey.
“I definitely set up a lot more birdie opportunities today as compared to yesterday. I wouldn’t say I converted all of them. I did hit some of them close, some were longish. So it was like a mix of birdies.”
She holed a 20-25 footer on sixth, but the others were inside 12 feet.
Amandeep’s bogey-free run ended early in the morning as she dropped a shot on the 11th after starting from the 10th. Back-to-back birdies on 14th and 15th ensured she turned in one-under. The second nine was a roller coaster with two birdies and three bogeys for an even-par 72.
“Today’s round was very similar to yesterday’s. Nothing good or bad. It’s just like I missed it on 2-3 wrong places where I ended up dropping a shot because. And the course is such that if you miss it at the wrong spot, you end up dropping a shot. So that’s exactly what happened today,” she said. (PTI)
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