Denia (Spain), Jul 21 (PTI) Diksha Dagar continued her fine run this season with a stunning birdie-birdie finish that saw her card 2-under 70 at the La Sella Open in Spain. The Indian golfer was tied 10th.
Though many players were yet to finish, Diksha, winner of the Czech ladies Open this season, did well to stay in reckoning.
Diksha was three shots behind the sole leader, Christine Wolf of Austria, and two others, including Nuria Iturrioz, were at 4-under 68.
Five players had finished at 3-under 69, as storms and inclement weather meant a lot of players will need to come the next day to finish the round.
Among other Indians, Amandeep Drall (73) was T-64, Vani Kapoor and Ridhima Dilawari with 74 each were T-83.
Diksha, who is having a great season with one win and three other Top-10 finishes, is currently fifth on the Race to Costa Del Sol and due to play two Majors in next few weeks.
Diksha had an early bogey on third, but made amends with a birdie on Par-4 eighth and added a birdie on 12th, only to give that away on the next hole. She made some steady pars and closed with birdies on 17th and 18th.
Wolf, whose sole win on the Ladies European Tour came in Diksha’s home country at the 2019 Women’s Indian Open, shot a bogey free round with birdies on second, fourth and three more in the last four holes for a superb 67.
Wolf birdied second, fourth, 14th, 17th and 18th.
With play twice coming to a halt during her round, the Austrian kept her composure to roll in five birdies either side of the stoppages and post the number which gave her the lead.
Hot on Wolf’s heels is a quartet of Spanish stars. Continuing from where she left off last week, when she finished T6 at the Aramco Team Series – London, Nuria Iturrioz carded three birdies and an eagle on way to a 68 (-4) on home soil.
Maria Hernandez, Carmen Alonso, and 17-year-old amateur Andrea Revuelta are one adrift of the three-time winner on three-under par – the latter competing in her first LET event.
Czechia’s Kristyna Napoleaova and England’s Cara Gainer round off the early finishers inside the top-10 on three-under par.
Twenty two groups are yet to finish their first round after play was suspended at 18:01 local time. Among those players are Sweden’s Sara Kjellker – currently T2 on four-under par, and France’s Anne-Charlotte Mora, who sits in T4 on three-under par.
With the weather expected to be extreme, the promoters have decided to reduce the La Sella Open to 54 holes.
The field of 126 will be cut to Top 60 and ties after the second round and 36 holes.
Source: PTI News
