By Rahul Banerji
Pranavi Urs battled her way into a share of the lead in the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour event at the Karnataka Golf Association in Bangalore on Thursday.
After an indifferent first day in the eighth leg of the tour, Pranavi turned in a 3-under 69 despite two bogeys on the back nine to join Ridhima Dilawari (69-74) atop the leaderboard.
The two are now 1-under 143 for 36 holes and three shots ahead of third placed Afshan Fatima (73-73).
A win this week would mean a fourth title in eight events this season and a consolidation of her position at the top of the Hero Order of Merit standings for Pranavi.
Seher Atwal (76-71), Jahanvi Bakshi (73-74) and Trimann Saluja (72-75) were tied for fourth place, while Siddhi Kapoor (76-72) and Gaurika Bishnoi (75-73) were tied for seventh.
Neha Tripathi (79-70) improved on her first round by nine shots and had the day’s second best card of 2-under 70. She was ninth, while amateur Smriti Bhargava (77) rounded off the top ten.
The cut fell at 159 and 26 players made the final round.
Steely display
Pranavi set aside the disappointment of her first round 74 with a sterling display on Thursday.
With birdies on the fifth and ninth holes, the Mysore teenager turned in 2-under and birdied 10 as well.
At that stage she was 3-under for the day and well set to better her score. Bogeys on 11 and 15 saw her drop down before she closed with a birdie on 18 to ensure she shared the top spot.
Overnight leader Ridhima seemed set to retain her place before a late disaster pulled her back.
She had three birdies but also dropped a double bogey on the par-4 seventh.
Even at that stage Ridhima was set for a handy lead as she was 1-under for the day, after an opening 3-under 69.
A triple bogey on 14 however gave Pranavi an opening even though Ridhima ran off four straight pars to close out her round for a less than ideal 74.
It sets the stage for a handy battle as Pranavi hunts her fourth win of the season and Ridhima aims to end a title drought since January 2021.
Afshan Fatima will be looking for any openings if either of the leaders falters.
Scores and round 3 tee times
7 am: Millie Saroha 159; Rhea Purvi S. 159
7:10 am: Saanvi Somu (A) 158; Astha Madan 158; Suchitra Ramesh 157
7:20 am: Disha Kavery 156; Gauri Karhade 156; Lakhmehar Pardesi 155
7:35 am: Rhea Jha 155; Agrima Manral 153; Heena Kang (A) 153
7:45 am: Jyotsana Singh 153; Asmitha Sathish 153; Khushi Khanijau 153
7:55 am: Jia Kataria (A) 152; Durga Nittur 152; Smriti Bhargav (A) 151
8:10 am: Neha Tripathi 149; Gaurika Bishnoi 148; Siddhi Kapoor 148
8:20 am: Trimann Saluja 147; Jahanvi Bakshi 147; Seher Atwal 147
8:30 am: Afshan Fatima 146; Ridhima Dilawari 143; Pranavi Urs 143
Also read: Error-free Ridhima holds early lead in KGA leg of Hero WPGT
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