Gurgaon: Gaurika Bishnoi on Thursday followed up her splendid showing (two under 70) on Day 1 with an equally gritty one under 71 on Day 2, to extend her lead at the top of the Usha Northern India Ladies & Junior Girls Golf Championships 2013, leaderboard. She pulled three strokes of clear of Gauri Monga, who eventually finished the day with a score of one over 73. The Gurgaon based Gaurika on current form therefore holds all the aces going into the final day, as she tees off together with the final group at 9.19AM at the Classic Golf Resort on Friday morning.
The best score of Day 2 was however registered by Bangalore based Aditi Ashok, a former Indian Golf Union (IGU) Ladies Tour winner and currently ranked number two on the IGU Ladies Golf Tour Order of Merit list. Aditi, who finished Day 1 in fifth position, made the most purposeful move up the leaderboard, carding a bogey free two under 70, to lay third, four shots off the pace.
Gaurika, who has an aggregate score of 141 till now, sank as many as three birdies today to follow up her five on the opening day, but an equally high bogey count over two days has meant that the field including the likes of Gauri and Aditi, and even Gurbani Singh, IGU Ladies Tour Order of Merit leader, will fancy their chances going into the final day. Gurbani carded a steady 72 (even par) today to gain one place from Day 1 to lie fifth. Another fancied player, Ridhima Dilawari, also carded a 72 to finish the day in fourth position. The other sub-par round of the day was registered by Millie Saroha, who returned a one under 71 to shoot up to seventh on the leaderboard.
Other notable names in the top 10 included Tvesa Malik who is at joint seventh position with Millie Saroha, with a total score of 154 at the end of two days of golf. The course holds no demons and it should be an interesting and well fought final day at the tournament.