St. Andrews (Scotland), Aug 23 (PTI) Indian golfers Diksha Dagar and Aditi Ashok made crucial birdies on their final holes to keep alive their chances of making the cut after the first round of the AIG Women’s Open.

Aditi carded a 4-over 76 to be T-79 while Diksha was 5-over 77, sitting at T-100 as play ended late on the opening day which was marred by strong winds.

The cut looked likely at 3-over or 4-over after the second round.

For a long time, Diksha’s score on the board showed a birdie on Par-5 14th, which was later corrected and it was shown as 5-over.

Aditi opened with two pars and then had a bogey on 12th and a double on 13th for 3-over first nine. She dropped further shots on first and second to go 5-over before the birdie on ninth made it 4-over for the day.

Diksha, T-21 last year at Walton Heath, was 5-over for her first nine holes, the back nine of the Old Course with bogeys on 10, 11, 13, 16 and 17.

On the second nine, she dropped a shot on third and picked a birdie on the ninth, her final hole.

Charley Hull fired a round of 5-under 67 to sit in the outright lead after the first round. The English star went out to tackle the Old Course in the afternoon wave alongside world number one Nelly Korda and defending champion Lilia Vu.

Hull rolled in her first birdie of the day on the fifth but made a bogey on the par-3 eighth, however, she was soon under par again with a birdie on the ninth.

The three-time LET winner then had a great back nine as she made birdies on 10, 12, 15 and 18 to hold a solo lead on five-under-par in the final major of the year.

China’s Ruoning Yin and American Korda sit one shot behind the leader after they produced rounds of 68 (-4) on the opening day at the Old Course.

Six players are in a share of fourth place with Korean duo Jenny Shin and Mi Hyang Lee, American pair Andrea Lee and Lilia Vu, Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit and Japan’s Mao Saigo all on three-under.

Source: PTI News