Diksha, Aditi stay in title hunt at Hulencourt Women’s Open
India’s experienced Olympians Diksha Dagar and Aditi Ashok remained firmly in contention for a strong finish at the Hulencourt Women’s Open after moving into a shared third place here.
Keeping India’s hopes alive in the Ladies European Tour event, Diksha (71) and Aditi (70) closed the third round at five-under-par 211, five shots behind Australia’s Kelsey Bennett.
Bennett seized control of the tournament with a composed three-under 69 to reach 10-under and open a two-shot advantage over Spain’s Carolina Chacarra.
Hero-backed Diksha produced another steady display, carding a one-under 71 to stay in touch with the leaders despite difficult scoring conditions.
Starting confidently, she picked up birdies on the second and ninth holes before dropping her lone shot of the day at the 10th. A string of eight successive pars thereafter ensured the two-time LET winner remained within striking distance entering Sunday’s decisive round.
Aditi, meanwhile, overcame a mixed day to post a two-under 70. The five-time LET winner appeared to be slipping out of contention after three bogeys during the round, but she responded impressively by birdieing three of her final four holes to join Diksha in tied third.
The finish underlined Aditi’s ability to recover under pressure and kept alive her hopes of adding another LET title to her impressive resume. Her maiden victory on the Tour had come at the Hero Women’s Indian Open exactly a decade ago.
Among the other Indians, Pranavi Urs slipped to tied 42nd after returning a one-over 73. Her round featured three birdies but was offset by four bogeys as she dropped down the leaderboard. Youngster Avani Prashanth endured a disappointing day on a day of strong winds.
She mixed an eagle and a birdie with three bogeys on the front nine but unravelled on the inward half with four consecutive bogeys from the 11th, another dropped shot on the 16th and a double bogey on the closing hole.
