Oviya, Amandeep share Cosmo lead as Pranavi bounces back

By Rahul Banerji

Chennai teenager Oviya Reddi held on to a share of the lead after the second round of the third leg of the Hero women’s pro tour at the TNGF Cosmo Golf course on Thursday.

As Oviya, who has never had a top five finish on the tour, had a roller coaster back nine with two birdies against four bogeys in her 74, Amandeep Drall, searching for her first win this season, shot a 73.

Oviya and Amandeep are 3-over par 147 and two shots ahead of Pranavi Urs (69) and Afshan Fatima (72), who are tied third on 5-over 149.

Impressive comeback

The star of the day was Pranavi Urs, who after a disappointing eight-over 80 in her first round as a pro, made a dramatic 11-shot improvement within a day. 

Pro debutant Pranavi has twice won on the Hero WPGT but as an amateur, and is looking for her first win as a professional.

After pars on the first five holes, Pranavi birdied three in a row from sixth to eighth before a bogey on ninth saw her turn in two-under.

On the back nine she birdied twice but had a double bogey on the par-3 13^th. She managed to end the day with a birdie on the 18^th and was the only player to make gains on it as only three others had pars on the closing hole.

Making a mark

Amandeep Drall, who has had a quiet time on the domestic tour after attempting to qualify for the Ladies European Tour, had three birdies on the front nine against two bogeys.

On the back nine she dropped two shots but parred the last six holes for her 73.

Oviya Reddi, who has been solid on a course she knows well, had two early bogeys but back-to-back birdies immediately followed by three pars saw her turn in even par 37.

On the back nine she dropped four shots but picked as many birdies. She had pars on only three holes on the back nine.

With the players getting a better idea of the TNGF Cosmo course layout, Neha Tripathi (77-74) and Vani Kapoor (79-73) also improved their scores. 

Bunched up

Neha was sole fifth on 7-over 151, while Vani was tied-sixth with Ananya Datar, whose three bogeys on her last three holes proved costly. Ananya added a 77 to her first round 75 to be 8-over 152 with Vani.

Amateur Sneha Singh (76-77) and Khushi Khanijau (79-74) were tied eighth, while Saaniya Sharma (79-75) and Sonam Chugh (77-77) completed the top ten.

With the course testing the players, the final round could see a thrilling finish with the top five players within four shots of each other.

Scores and round 3 groups

Geetika Ahuja 173; Anisha Agarwalla 168; Trimann Saluja 167

Mehar Atwal 165; Jyotsana Singh 164; Ishvari Prasanna 161

Gursimar Badwal 159; Smriti Mehra 159; Gurjot Badwal 156

Siddhi Kapoor 155; Sonam Chugh 154; Saaniya Sharma 154

Sneha Singh (A) 153; Khushi Khanijau 153; Ananya Datar 152

Vani Kapoor 152; Neha Tripathi 151; Afshan Fatima 149

Pranavi Urs 149; Oviya Reddi 147; Amandeep Drall 147

Also read: Vidhatri Urs tops Sirikit Cup trials at Noida Golf Course