Amandeep Drall and Gaurika Bishnoi led a sizeable Indian contingent into the weekend rounds of the US$400,000 Hero Women’s Indian Open at the DLF Golf & Country Club on Friday.
From a total of 30 who teed off on Day One, as many as 15 – the highest ever – made the cut which fell at eight over par 152 to qualify for the final two days of India’s biggest women’s golf tournament.
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In all, 64 players, 61 professionals and three amateurs survived a brutal day on the course with just 12 in a field of 114 bringing in under-par cards in the second round.
LPGA regular Aditi Ashok was the next best-placed among the home contingent behind co-leaders Amandeep and Gaurika at three-under par 141 (70-71) and had the added benefit of bringing in one of the day’s very few bogey-free cards.
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Speaking about the round, Gaurika said, ‘I definitely set up a lot more birdie opportunities today as compared to yesterday. And I wouldn’t say I converted all of them. I did hit some of them close, some were longish.’
‘I didn’t have the best start today, I was two over through three holes but I made a birdie on 4th hole so the momentum came back. I was one under through the front nine. And then I made four more birdies in the back nine and was three-under in the back nine. So, four-under for the day’, added Gaurika.
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Amandeep, after a bogey-free opening round, had a topsy-turvy day with 4 bogeys cancelling out 4 birdies for her. She said, ‘The pins were trickier than yesterday. I just approached it the same way as I did yesterday.’
About her 3-putt on the first hole, she said, ‘I had a 3-putt on the 1st hole, but that was my bad because I went too aggressive as I wanted to hole it. And then I paid for it. So I took a risk, I took a chance. So it’s OK, I’ll take it.’
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Vidhatri Urs (74-72), Anika Varma (75-73), who the best-placed home finisher at the last edition of the Hero Women’s Indian Open in 2019, and national champion Avani Prashanth (75-76) were the three amateurs to qualify for the final two days.
Vani Kapoor (72-71) made the cut for the tenth time in a row. She was ecstatic when informed of her feat. “Really? I had no idea! You’ve just made my day,” the 28-year-old said. “I’ve always been comfortable playing this course and the Hero Women’s Indian Open always brings out the best in me. Overall, I made seven birdies and six bogeys today so it’s a little mixed feelings there, but definitely pleased to be in contention for a tenth straight time.”
Four Indians were under-par after the 36-hole cut – Gaurika, Amandeep, Aditi and Vani.
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Indians who made cut
Amandeep Drall and Gaurika Bishnoi (-5); Aditi Ashok (-3); Vani Kapoor (-1); Nishtha Madan (+1); Neha Tripathi and Vidhatri Urs (A) (+2); Hitaashee Bakshi (+3); Tvesa Malik, Diksha Dagar and Anika Varma (A) (+4); Ridhima Dilawari (+5); Asmitha Sathish (+6); Avani Prashanth (A) (+7); and Seher Atwal (+8).
