Harpal Singh Bedi / Noida
Overnight joint leader Ridhima Dilawari, shot her second successive sub par round,carding one under 71 to take a big -shot lead with one more round to go in the 14thLeg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the Noida Golf Course on Thursday.
Ridhima, who has already won three times this season, was one of the four players to shoot a sub-par round on the first day, but today only she could repeat the effort,and with her first round 69 she has aggregated four-under 140 in the Rupees Eight lakh event.
Amandeep Drall, the only other player to shoot under par in the second round, added 71 to her first round 75 to leap to 146 and sole second place.
Meanwhile, Diksha Dagar, who shared the first round lead with Ridhima, suffered a severe reversal of form with six bogeys and no birdies as her 78 saw her fall to three-over 147 and third place.
Gaurika Bishnoi, leader on the Hero Order of Merit, was also unable to land any birdies as she had three bogeys and a double on the Par-4 12th hole for a 77 that saw her at four-over 148 and fourth place.
Tvesa Malik, the other player apart from Ridhima with three wins this season, did have two birdies, but she also gave away six bogeys and a double bogey. Her back nine was a nightmare with four bogeys and a double on the Par-5 14th as she dropped to fifth place at five-over 149.
Smriti Mehra (77-76) was sixth and Anousha Tripathi (79-76) was seventh. Siddhi Kapoor (82-74) and Saaniya Sharma (78-78) were Tied-eighth as three players, Ishvari Prasanna (80-77), Astha Madan (77-80) and Neha Tripathi (77-80) were Tied-tenth.
In the final round, Ridhima will play with Diksha Dagar and Amandeep Drall, and unless there is a big dramatic change in form, Ridhima looks good to win her fourth title of the season.