Turku, Finland, July 17: Diksha Dagar handled the challenging windy conditions well to card 2-under 69 and moved into second place after the second day of the Gant Ladies Open. Diksha, who was part of the winning team at the Aramco Ladies Open last week in London, moved to 1-under 141 for two rounds. She was one shot behind Finland’s Matilda Castren (71-69) who was 2-under for 36 holes.
The 20-year-old Diksha, who also posted a round of 69 to be one-under-par for the tournament, made an eagle, four birdies and three bogeys to move into second place outright.
Diksha said: “I started very well today, and I was striking the ball very good. On the front nine I was struggling a little bit because the wind was challenging. It was a tailwind and then it would suddenly change to a headwind. Let’s see tomorrow and I will try to play my best.”
Tvesa Malik, who like Diksha is supported by Hero, was 3-under on first day fell to 3-over on second to be even par for two days and was Tied-6th, while Astha Madan (79-76) and Vani Kapoor (77-79) missed the cut.
Castren, 26, opened her round with a bogey on the first hole but made a birdie on the eighth to make the turn in 36. Castren then rolled in back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 to post a round of 69 and leave her two-under-par for the tournament with one day left.
Castren secured her first win on the LPGA at the 2021 LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship in June, but the Finn is not putting any expectations on herself tomorrow.
Dutch golfer Pasqualle Coffa carded another level-par round to leave her T3 for the tournament alongside Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom and Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul.
A trio of players sit one shot further back on one-over-par including Tvesa Malik, Finland’s Kiira Riihijarvi and France’s Emma Grechi. The cut fell at +9 with 63 players making it through to the final day.
