Wollongong (Australia), February 27 The day started poorly for the Indian golfers, with Hitaashee Bakshi emerging as the best among them, finishing tied for 48th with a score of 73 in the Ford Women's NSW Open on the Ladies European Tour here.
Pranavi Urs carded 74, while Diksha Dagar (77) finished 103rd and Avani Prashanth (80) finished 126th, as the first day's play was affected by a flooded course.
The first round was suspended on Thursday and completed later on Friday.
Hannah Reeves and Kelsey Bennett, both from Australia, were the leaders after the first round, with each of them scoring 65.
They were overtaken by Irish rookie Aine Donegan, who shot a second round of 63 (-8) to take the lead by two strokes. More than half the field had not yet completed 36 holes, and none of the Indian golfers had started the second round.
This was Donegan's first start as a member of the Ladies European Tour (LET), and she could not have had a better debut, following an opening round of 68 (-3) with a sensational 63 (-8) to take the lead.
Even as the conditions improved, the course remained soft.
Australian Sarah Kemp also had a memorable day, posting a second-round score of 64 (-7) to move to nine under par, two strokes behind leader Donegan.
The 40-year-old, who also had to play 36 holes on Friday, is just 10 weeks removed from knee surgery following a serious accident two years ago.
