By Rahul Banerji
Vani Kapoor continued her steady rise up the Big Green Egg Open leaderboard in the Netherlands after 54 holes at the Rosendaelsche Golf Club on Saturday.
Vani (69-70-71) turned in her third straight sub-par round for a 6-under par aggregate to sit in tied second a shot behind three-time major winner Anna Nordqvist (72-70-67).
Diksha Dagar (68-71-73) slipped from her overnight tied third to a share of fifth place with her first over-par round, while Amandeep Drall and Ridhima Dilawari were further down the standings.
Vani swapped two birdies, one on either side of the turn, against one dropped shot in windy conditions on Saturday to end alongside Austria’s Sarah Schober.
The steady performance was good enough to keep her in the hunt for what could be a maiden Ladies European Tour title.
Late charge
Nordqvist needed three straight birdies over the final three holes to in fact take the lead away from the WGAI star as she chipped away at a six-shot deficit on the day.
Vani bogeyed the 15th hole but three closing pars after that kept her hot on the heels of the Solheim Cup star.
Nordqvist will have Vani alongside in the final group on Sunday.
Birdies on the fourth and tenth gave Vani, 28, the lead before the dropped shot on 15 saw her fall back into a tie for second, adds ladieseuropeantour.com.
A missed birdie putt on 18 summed up Kapoor’s day on the greens on Saturday, but she is excited to play in the final group in an LET event for the first time on Sunday.
Close misses
“I left quite a few putts out there, I gave myself a lot of chances. I putted well but they didn’t go in the hole – I had two lip-outs and one stopped on the edge – but I’m hoping for a better day tomorrow,” she said.
“My accuracy is helping on this course, this course is tight and you need to hit fairways and greens here, and as long as I keep doing that the scores will keep coming.
“I’m really excited to be in the final group, I’m glad that things are falling together and I’m finally here, and I hope tomorrow goes well as well.
“To play with Anna will be amazing and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Also read: Vani, Diksha going well at LET event in the Netherlands
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