Austrian Christine Wolf devoured birdies like never before to card a second successive 4-under 68 and open up a massive four-shot lead over the rest of the field at the halfway stage of the Womens Indian Open 2018 golf tournament here.
Wolf, who had never shot a round in the 60s in her previous four visits to India, including three of them to this course, has now done it twice in the last two days.
With seven birdies in a sparkling nine-hole stretch and three bogeys, she shot 68 to set herself up for her maiden Ladies European Tour (LET) win in a six-year long pro career. Her best at this competition is tied 11th in 2016, when she had a share of the lead after the first day.
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The middle segment of the scorecard was liberally sprinkled with seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch from the fifth to the 13th holes. She reached 10-under at one stage but bogeys on the 14th and 17th brought her back to 8-under, which was still enough to give her a four-shot lead over Thailand's Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras (68-72).
The Thai looked like catching up with the Austrian as she reached 6-under with two holes to go. She ran into a disastrous triple bogey on the par-4 eighth, which was her 17th hole as she hit into the water twice. She birdied the final hole to get to 4-under and four behind Wolf.
India's Tvesa Malik (72-71) was tied seventh alongside Denmark's Nicole Broch Larsen (74-69), French Celine Boutier (72-71) and Thai Kanphanitan Muangkhumsakul (72-71).
Eight Indians, including three amateurs, made the cut that fell at 7-over. Led by Tvesa, the others were Gaurika Bishnoi (71-74) at tied 16th, Ridhima Dilawari (69-77) at tied 27th, Vani Kapoor (77-73), Astha Madan (75-75) and amateur Pranavi Urs (76-74) at tied 51st besides two more amateurs Sifat Sagoo (72-79) and Diksha Dagar (75-76) at tied 61st.
This was the highest number of Indians making the cut in the history of the Hero Women's Indian Open.
Overnight leader, Norway's Tonje Daffinrud (66-75) was 1-under through 13 holes, before she triple bogeyed the 14th and dropped yet another shot on 15th to lose four shots in two holes. She parred the rest for 75 and was 3-under 141 and third.
Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord (68-74), French golfer Manon Molle (72-70) and England's Eleanor Givens are 2-under and tied 4th.
Tvesa Malik, who shot two-under par rounds of 71 each while winning the last WGAI event three weeks ago at this very course, outscored her experienced playing partners, Beth Allen, who won the Order of Merit in 2016, and Caroline Hedwall, HWIO champion and Order of Merit winner in 2011. Hedwall is now tied 27th and Allen is tied 30th.
--IANS
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