Wollongong, February 28 – India's top star, Diksha Dagar, bounced back from a disappointing first round of 77 with scores of 66 and 65 in the next two rounds, rising to tied 26th after the third round of the Ford Women's NSW Open.
In the second round, Diksha had five birdies and no bogeys, and she maintained a bogey-free run in the third round with six birdies. These six birdies included four in the last five holes. She is now five strokes under par and well-positioned to make a strong final day push. Her second round score of 66 helped her make the cut in 53rd place, and then she moved up to tied 26th after three days.
The other Indian players, Hitaashee Bakshi (73-73), Pranavi Urs (74-74), and Avani Prashanth (80-72), missed the cut.
The leaderboard is packed with players heading into the final round, with regional qualifier Hannah Reeves currently leading with a score of 12 under par.
The 17th edition of the tournament has already produced plenty of drama due to heavy rainfall on Thursday.
After 36 holes were finally completed at the Wollongong Golf Club, a shotgun start for the third round commenced at 14:45 local time with Ireland's Aine Donegan holding a two-shot lead.
Donegan started strongly, birdieing the par-5 1st before the Irishwoman dropped five shots in her next 10 holes, opening up the lead for the rest of the field.
Reeves, a winner of three regional qualifiers, took advantage of the sunny weather, recovering well from a bogey at the 3rd to card six birdies for a round of 66 (-5).
The final round included a dramatic finish as the Australian almost holed out for an eagle three. She leads compatriot Kelsey Bennett by one shot with 18 holes remaining in New South Wales.
Thailand's April Angurasaranee had a memorable day, posting her best round of golf, a 62 (-9), which included a hole-in-one at the 170-yard par-3 12th. Angurasaranee is tied for third with France's Agathe Laisne and 17-year-old amateur Soomin Oh from South Korea.
Six players round off the top-10 on eight-under par.
