Diksha Stays at Third After Second Round in Morocco

Rabat (Morocco), Apr 27 (PTI) Rising Indian woman golfer Diksha Dagar a modest shot two-over 75 but still managed to hold on to her tied third spot after a tough second round in the Lalla Meryem Cup at Golf Dar Es Salam in Morocco.

Diksha, who was third after the first round, managed to hung on tenaciously to her place with three others at two-under 144 after a tough outing on an extremely windy day.

Nuria Iturrios from Spain had a one-shot lead into the final two rounds after carding a two-under-par 71.

Iturrios, 23, made three birdies on the front nine and missed a short putt at the par-3 13th to sit at seven-under-par.

The 2016 event champion is a stroke ahead of the first round leader Lina Boqvist, with Eleanor Givens, Camilla Lennarth, Diksha and Noemi Jimenez Martin four strokes further back.

Diksha, winner of the Investec South African Women's Open, opened the week with four-under 69. Into the second round, Dagar had three birdies against five bogeys.

Iturrios is full of confidence as she won her second professional title on the Santander Golf Tour a fortnight ago.

Her coach, Jose Luis Palacios, who was acting as her caddie a fortnight ago, is back this week.

On a day when gusty, swirling breeze, tough pin positions and firm greens made for difficult scoring conditions, the 27-year-old Swede Boqvist carded a one-over-par 74, having hit just nine fairways during her round.

The breeze is expected to decrease in the third round as warmer weather filters into the area for the weekend.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)