Rising golfer Khushi Khanijau, who does not have a single top-5 finish against her name this season, birdied the 18th and final hole of the Boulder Hills Golf and Country Club to take sole lead after the second round of the Hero womens Pro Tour's 11th leg here on Thursday.
Khushi shot 3-over 75 in the second round to get to 4-over 148 and is now one shot clear of second placed Amandeep Drall (75-74).
Tvesa Malik (75-76) is third at 7-over 151, while Afshan Fatima, who was second after the first round, dropped to fourth with a second round card of 79.
In windy conditions, it was a tough day for the golfers. While none of the players could card a birdie on the front nine, scores on the back nine were only marginally better.
The 18-year-old from Jaipur, Khushi turned pro only at the start of this season. She finished 10th in the sixth leg, seventh in the eighth leg and those have been her best performances.
Khushi ran into a rough patch with three bogeys in four holes on the front nine with bogeys on third, fifth and sixth. Her birdies came on 10th and 18th and she also had another double on the par-5 14th.
Amandeep, who won the previous leg, had just one birdie on 11th and three bogeys in her 74 while Tvesa, leader on the order of merit, had four bogeys and no birdies, while Afshan carded six bogeys, a double and just one birdie.
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Millie Saroha, leader after the first round, slipped to fifth place after a round of 81 that again showed just one birdie.
The final day will see Khushi, Amandeep and Tvesa in the final group, while Sonam Chugh, Millie and Afshan will play together in the second group. The first group will see Ayesha Kapur, Suchitra Ramesh and Siddhi Kapoor.
--IANS
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