Aditi tied-11th as Avani moved into top 20 at Open de Espana

Malaga (Spain), Nov 29 (IANS) Aditi Ashok was just outside the top 10, but Avani Prashanth made a good move up to get into the top 20 at the halfway stage of the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana. Aditi, a former winner of this event who was invited, shot 2-under 70, moved to 5-under 139, and was T-11. 

Avani Prashanth, a rookie, brought home the best second round card of 3-under 69, to get to 4-under and was T-17.

Among the other three Indians, Pranavi Urs (71) was T-47 at 1-over total, Hitaashee Bakshi (76) and Diksha Dagar (75) were both T-64 at 5-over. There are two more rounds to go in the season-ending event.

Hitaashee, Pranavi and Avani are coming off Top-5 finishes in the Hero Women’s Indian Open and are looking at a good finish at the season-ending event.

Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab fired a course record of 63 (-9) to lead by seven strokes at the halfway stage. The 2023 LET Order of Merit winner began the day in a share of the lead and started well with three birdies on the trot on holes two, three and four at Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf.

Cheenglab rolled in back-to-back birdies on the sixth and seventh holes before adding another on 12, and she finished in style with three birdies in a row to set a new course record and the lowest round of her Ladies European Tour (LET) career.

Aditi, who had a rather modest round, had three birdies against one bogey, while Avani had six birdies in an aggressive round, but she also gave away a bogey on the third and a double bogey on the 16th in her 69.

She had three birdies against two bogeys, while Diksha had one birdie against two bogeys and a double bogey, and Hitaashee had three birdies against five bogeys and a double bogey in her round of 76.

The 30-year-old Trichat earned a trophy to commemorate the course record by Real Guadalhorce Club de Golf and leads the LET season finale with a score of 15-under-par at the 36-hole mark.

Italy’s Alessandra Fanali recorded a round of 66 (-6) on day two in Spain to climb up to second place in the leaderboard.

French duo Nastasia Nadaud and Celine Herbin are in a share of third place on seven-under-par at the end of day two.

Six players are one shot further back on six-under-par, including England’s Mimi Rhodes and Singapore’s Shannon Tan, who are battling for the 2025 LET Order of Merit title.

The duo both fired rounds of 67 (-5) on day two in Malaga and will tee it up in the same group for the third day in a row.

--IANS

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