Hulencourt (Belgium), Jun 14 (PTI) Teen star Avani Prashanth, who was second for the first two days, added a third-round card of 3-under 69 to take sole lead at the Hulencourt Women’s Open here.
The 18-year-old Avani, who is playing her first season as a pro, goes into the final round as a sole leader for the first time in her career.
Playing in her first season on the LET, Avani, who as an amateur has top-10 finishes in Hero Women’s Indian Open and Magical Kenyan Open in 2023, has had four top-20 finishes this season.
After rounds of 68-69-69 she is 10-under despite a closing bogey on the 18th and holds a one-shot lead over French golfer, Nastasia Nadaud (67), and Welsh pro, Darcey Harry (68), who are both at 9-under.
The other two Indians making the cut were Diksha Dagar (72-73-70) at 1-under and T-32 and Tvesa Malik (76-70-71) at 1-over and T-42nd.
Avani, who was second after the second round, opened her round on the moving day with five pars.
She birdied the sixth and the ninth to turn in 2-under. On the back nine, she added birdies on the 14th and the 16th and got to 11-under at which point she held a two-shot lead over the field.
She dropped her first shot on the closing hole and fell back too 9-under, but Nastasia, who made a big charge with a 67, was still one behind. Darcey Harry was tied second with Nastasia.
On a cooler moving day, Avani picked four birdies with her only blemish coming on the 18th hole.
“The wind switched up today, so it was like a different golf course altogether”, said Avani.
“I definitely had to play a little conservatively in some places, which I don’t like to do, but obviously I was forced to. I just stayed patient the whole time,” she added.
Avani produced a standout moment on the 14th, firing an impressive birdie putt from off the green.
“I misjudged that number a little bit, but I’m glad it turned out the way it did. The temperatures were down a little bit today which I guess made it slightly easier. Yesterday, everyone was complaining about the heat, but I think golf was a little easier for everyone today.
“I preferred it a bit more yesterday because of how far the ball was going, but I’m definitely happy that it wasn’t as hot. I had to try really hard to focus all day yesterday, and by the 8th and 9th holes, I was so tired, so thankfully that didn’t happen today,” she explained.
The young golfer admitted that there could be some nerves going into the final round.
“There will obviously be some nerves, but I just try and forget about it. I love playing under pressure and I love chasing, but thankfully, I don’t have to do that now, so I’m just going to put my best foot forward tomorrow and see how it goes,” she said.
The second-round leader, Helen Briem shot even par 72 and slipped to fourth at 8-under, while Singaporean Shanon Tan (69) was tied fifth with first round leader, Australian Kelsey Bennett (71).
The day’s best card came from Cara Gainer of England, whose 66 carried her to tied-seventh with Smilia Tarning Soenderby of Denmark, Lauren Walsh of Ireland, and Ginnie Ding of Hong Kong. They were all at 6-under.
In the second round, Avani produced a round of 3-under 69 to follow up on her opening round of 4-under par 68 to stay in second place and just one stroke behind the leader, Germany’s Helen Briem (68-68).
However, the other Indians Vani Kapoor (76-73), Sneha Singh (74-75), Amandeep Drall (74-76) and Hitaashee Bakshi (79-74) missed the cut.
Avani has been encouraged by her recent form and consistency.
“I’ve been playing well, but wasn’t quite getting the strong starts I wanted. This week, I’ve had that, and I’m happy to have built on it.
“Mentally, I’m in a confident place. I’ve been closing out tournaments well lately, which has helped put me in a really positive headspace,” she added. PTI Corr UNG
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