Bengaluru, Jun 16 (Golf News) Pranavi Urs roared back into contention in the eighth leg of the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour with a 3-under 69 to get into a share of the lead with Ridhima Dilawari here on Thursday.

The leading duo is now 1-under 143 for 36 holes and three shots ahead of third placed Afshan Fatima (73-73).

Seher Atwal (76-71), Jahanvi Bakshi (73-74) and Trimann Saluja (72-75) were tied for fourth place, while Siddhi Kapoor (76-72) and Gaurika Bishnoi (75-73) were tied for seventh.

Neha Tripathi (79-70) improved on her first round score by nine shots and had the day’s second best card of 2-under 70. She was ninth, while amateur Smriti Bhargava (77) rounded off the top 10.

The cut fell at 159 and 26 players made the final round.

Pranavi, who has sometimes begun slow, moved back into action after the disappointing first round of 74.

With birdies on fifth and ninth, she turned in 2-under and birdied the 10th too. At that stage she was 3-under for the day and the run suggested she could further better her scores.

Bogeys on Par-5 11th and Par-3 15th, however, saw her drop down before she closed with a birdie on 18th to ensure she shared the top spot.

Overnight leader Ridhima (69-74) seemed set for sole lead before a late disaster pulled her back. She had three birdies, two of them on the Par-3s, but she also dropped a double bogey on the Par-4 seventh.

Even at that stage she was set for a handy lead as she was 1-under for the day, after a 3-under 69 on the first day. The big blow, however, was the triple bogey she suffered on the Par-5 14th and thereafter she made it to the finish with four pars, for a disappointing 74.

A battle royale is set as Pranavi goes for her fourth win of the season and Ridhima aims to end a long title drought since her win in January 2021, while Afshan will be looking for any openings if either of the leaders falter at the start. 

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News Source : PTI