Hitaashee Bakshi fired a bogey-free round of 67 (-5) on day two of the Hero Women’s Indian Open to sit atop the leaderboard at the midway mark of the competition.
The 21-year-old, who is competing in her first full season on the Ladies European Tour (LET), rolled in her first birdie on the fourth before adding back-to-back birdies on seven and eight.
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Hitaashee made two further birdies on 12 and 13 to seal her flawless round at her home golf course of DLF Golf and Country Club, and climb to the top of the leaderboard with a score of seven-under-par.
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“It’s amazing to perform on home soil finally and it’s good to be back,” she said. “Today, I had my crowd, there were a lot of people following me and it was amazing to have them there.
“I have been playing here for 14 years, I’ve grown up over here and played every single day. It’s amazing to perform the way I finally want to during a tournament. I hold the women’s course record of -8, so I’m going to try to beat that the next few days.
“I was just going one shot at a time. I didn’t care if I was bogey-free or if I was making bogeys and birdies. I just wanted to have one swing at a time and that helped me a lot.
“It’s amazing to be in my first full season on the LET. When I was nine or 10 years old, I used to volunteer in these events just to be close to the players and now I’m finally playing with them – it’s amazing.”
Germany’s Verena Gimmy and Indian amateur Zara Anand are tied for second place one shot further back on six-under-par.
Gimmy, who is playing the Hero Women’s Indian Open for the first time, carded a round of 70 (-2) on day two which included four birdies and two bogeys.
“I love the course. I like it when it’s quirky and tough and you have to think a little bit. I’m very confident off the tee, I grinded today around the greens and made a lot of good up-and-downs,” said the German.
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“It wasn’t as easy and flawless as yesterday, but I’m very happy with my round. It’s really important to be in the fairway, the second cut is really tough here. I hit lots of fairways and got a few chances. On 18, I made an up-and-down from 90 metres for par, I’m glad my coach is here and we worked a lot on my pitching.
“I’m trying not to think about my status for next year too much, I’m trying to enjoy every single hole and play as much as I can. We will see what happens. My highlight was probably my birdie on 14, it’s probably the toughest hole on this course. I hit a great shot to nine feet and holed the putt.”
Zara also produced a round of 70 (-2) but had a more adventurous day on the golf course with a double bogey, two bogeys and six birdies on her scorecard.
“It’s been incredible, I’m really grateful for this and I’m just enjoying myself out there,” said the 17-year-old. “My putting has been going well this week. I have my coach on the bag and he’s been a great help for me, so I’m just going to keep on going.
“He has been my coach ever since I started playing, it’s been 10-12 years with him and I think he knows me better than I know myself. It’s great having him out there and he used to be a pro, so it’s a great experience.
“I’m going to take it hole by hole and shot by shot and just stay in the present, that will be the key going into the weekend. I’m looking forward to it. DLF is not my home club, but I do end up playing two events here in a year. It’s a great course and a new challenge every day.”
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Two players are in a share of fourth place with Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini and India’s Pranavi Urs both on five-under-par.
