Pranavi Urs has battled a stomach bug but displayed exemplary grit in maintaining second place behind Hero Women’s Indian Open leader Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland in Gurgaon over two days. Image courtesy HWIO.
By Rahul Banerji
Chiara Tamburlini, Pranavi Urs, and Magdalena Simmermacher made the most of conditions at the DLF Golf and Country Club on day two of the $500,000 Hero Women’s Indian Open in Gurgaon on Friday.
Overnight leader Tamburlini of Switzerland stayed at the head of the pack for a second straight day with a 1 under par 71 after Thursday’s 5 under 67 to hold a two-shot lead at 6-under over Pranavi, who was sole second.
Defending champion Shannon Tan could only manage a 5 over 77 to with her opening 68 to slip into a tie for 15th, while Pranavi returned a second straight 2 under 70 on another good day for the home contingent.
Argentina’s Simmermacher was alongside the Asian Games champion on 4 under 140.
Vani Kapoor climbed into the top 10 with a 3 under 69 on Friday that included an eagle on the tough hole 14 and Tvesa Malik (71-73) was T12.
But taking centrestage was Jaipur teenager Ojaswini Saraswat who made history by becoming the youngest Indian ever to make cut at the Hero Women’s Indian Open.
Jaipur teenager Ojaswini Saraswat on Friday became the youngest Indian at 13 to make the cut at the Hero Women’s Indian Open. Image courtesy HWIO.
Young achiever
At 13, Ojaswini surpassed Aditi Ashok’s mark in the 2012 HWIO of 14 years.
She is also the second-youngest ever to make the cut at an LET event after Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, who was 12 when she played the 2008 Finnair Masters.
Displaying maturity beyond her years on a golf course that is arguably the toughest on the LET schedule, Ojaswini recovered from a 79 to make the cut comfortably with a superb 3-under 69.
Tamburlini does not have a great record at the event, so to see her name atop the leaderboard for the second day running was the motivation to keep going even when golf course bared its fangs.
Fifteen pars, two birdies and a bogey was the Swiss player’s haul for the day.
“It’s always fun to see your name up there. It’s motivating, and makes it easier to accept a bad shot because you know you’re up there and have the game to bounce back,” said 2024 LET Order of Merit topper.
As one of the two best Indians at T5 overnight, Avani Prasanth (70-76) had a bad day at work on Friday and slipped to T18, but Pranavi used the momentum to power an ailing body.
Soldiering on
A stomach bug has challenged her since the start of the week, and it was up to her to surge or succumb.
“My stomach hasn’t been the best this week; I’m trying to keep it together,” she said later
She opened on Friday with a bogey, and it was here that the mind went back to the final day at the Asian Games when she made triple-bogey early on.
A decision was taken in Japan that frequent glances at the leaderboard don’t always help, and what ensued was a display of grit combining with blinkers-on golf.
“One bad hole doesn’t mean you can’t come back. You have to be patient. That’s what I did and just took it shot by shot,” said Pranavi.
Making par from then on, Pranavi got the impetus she needed with the birdie at the start of her back-nine. It led to a domino effect as she converted two more birdie putts.
Top scores
1. Chiara Tamburlini (SUI): 67-71 (-6)
2. Pranavi Urs (IND): 70-70; Magdalena Simmermacher (ARG): 68-72 (-4)
4. Sara Kouskova (CZE): 69-72; Camille Chevalier (FRA): 71-70 (-3)
7. Vani Kapoor (IND): 73-69; Ariane Klotz (FRA): 72-70 (-2)
9. Pornanong Phatlum (THA): 72-71; Sara Byrne (IRL): 72-71; Ursula Wikstrom (FIN): 71-72 (-1)
12. Tvesa Malik (IND): 71-73; Georgia Iziemgbe Oboh (NGR): 72-72; April Angurasaranee (THA): 71-73 (E)
Also read: Rousing start by home challengers at Hero Women’s Indian Open
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