German rookie Aline Krauter will take a one shot lead into the weekend at the Hero Women’s Indian Open after shooting a flawless 68 (-4) on Friday at DLF Golf & Country Club.
After Vani Kapoor set a six-under par 36 hole target in the morning, Krauter went bogey-free firing four birdies – two each side of the turn – to move into top position on seven-under par.
“My ball striking was really good today,” the German said. “This helps around this course. I left a lot out there around the greens, but I feel like that’s every golf round. I put myself in great positions and had a lot of birdie chances. I didn’t convert as many as I would have liked, or could have, but it was still a great round.”
The 23-year-old from Stuttgart – who is looking to emulate compatriot Olivia Cowan’s success this week – hardly missed a green all day with her red numbers coming at the 2nd, 5th, 11th, and 14th.
As the crowds gathered on her final two holes, Krauter overcame hitting her tee shot into a sand divot on the 17th to salvage par before getting up-and-down with a wonderful bunker shot on the closing hole.
The strong start is made more impressive given Krauter’s driver was damaged on the flight over to Delhi, with Indian player Tvesa Malik coming to her rescue with a new shaft.
She explained: “My driver shaft was cracked when I got here and I only noticed it on the range warming up for my first practice round. For my second practice round I was able to get one from the performance centre here which was great, I had a player [Malik] help me out which was super nice. It’s been working well… I might put it in the bag!”
Competing mostly on the LPGA this season (the rookie holds dual status on both tours), a stellar performance this week could be crucial for Krauter’s pursuit of maintaining her Ladies European Tour (LET) card for 2024.
“I think there’s such a big sense of community on the LET which is great.” Krauter said, who currently sits 116th in the Race to Costa del Sol. “I’ve had a lot of fun this week and I always would love to come back, so it would be great to have a good week.”
In solo second on six-under par sits the aforementioned Kapoor. The local star carded a round of 70 (-2) on Friday morning firing six birdies to leapfrog home rival Diksha Dagar.
“It’s so nice to play at your home course and have friends and family here as well as all the DLF members,” Kapoor said, who is currently 120th in the Race to Costa del Sol. “It’s a brilliant feeling [and] really a different feeling. I was nervous but I think it’s helping, it’s channelising my goals and my process.”
Starting the day two shots behind overnight leader Madelene Stavnar – who posted a 74 (+2) on Friday – Kapoor birdied the 3rd, 7th, and 9th on the front nine before giving shots back on the 4th, 8th and 10th.
“It was quite an up and down round,” she said. “I would make one birdie and then drop a bogey. But I’m glad that I held on and I’m pretty happy with the round overall.”
With the home fans watching on, Kapoor made back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th before adding another on the picturesque par-3 16th to storm into the early lead.
Dagar, India’s highest ranked player in the field, and Sweden’s Sara Kjellker share third position on five-under-par – the latter equalling the round of the week with a fabulous 66 (-6).
“The first six holes felt crazy,” the rookie said. “I thought this could go either way today. But then I had an eagle on hole eight and that kickstarted the round.”
While Dagar, currently fourth in the Race to Costa del Sol, overcame a bogey-bogey start to follow up yesterday’s 67 (-5) with a level-par round.
“I didn’t start well but it was alright,” Dagar said. “Today my putting let me down, and today the pin positions were a little bit tougher than yesterday.
“Yesterday’s round, it was like a bonus round. So today was an easy, comfortable round and I didn’t have to worry much about an under-par round. But just I was trying to go low.”
Overnight leader Stavnar from Norway and England’s Hannah Burke sit in a tie for fifth on four-under par. Indian players Avani Prashanth, the teenage amateur who won on the LET Access Series (LETAS) back in August, and Gaurika Bishnoi share seventh on three-under par.
Rounding out the top-10 are England’s Liz Young and Switzerland’s Kim Metraux, who both matched their opening rounds of 71 (-1) on day two in Delhi.
After 36 holes of action at DLF Golf & Country Club, the cut fell at six-over par with 64 players making it through to the weekend.
Round three of the 2023 Hero Women’s Indian Open tees off at 9:10 local time. Follow all the action on @LETGolf on Instagram and X and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #RaiseOurGame #HWIO2023.
