Neha Tripathi played a flawless brilliant back nine of three-under 33 to come up with an even par 72 that catapulted her into the lead after the end of the second round in the opening event of the 2013 Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Playing at the Royal Kolkata Golf Club, Neha was second after carding a 77 in the first round but moved to the top on the second day and now has a total of 149. Neha is four shots clear of Smriti Mehra (77-76), who totals 153. First round leader Vani Kapoor slipped to third place with an 80 and now has a total of 155.
After three pars and a birdie on the fourth hole, Neha has had a tough time on the front nine as she dropped shots on the fifth and sixth holes followed by a double bogey on the seventh.
But she reversed her fortunes on the back nine with birdies on the 10th and 11th and a series of six pars before ending the day with a final birdie on the 18th. The second best card of the day came from Smriti, who had one birdie on the par-5 fourth, three bogeys and a double bogey on the 10th.
Vani was unable to come to terms with the course as she hit three bogeys on the front nine and then came with a quadruple on the par-4 12th followed by a double on the par-3 13th. She ended with four pars and a birdie on the 18th for a card of 80.
Rani Sonti (85-78) was fourth, while Ankita Tiwana (80-86) and Vandana Agarwal (79-87) were tied for fifth.