Cara Gainer and Pranavi Urs share the lead on eight-under-par at the end of the second day of the Dormy Open Helsingborg.
Following yesterday’s weather delay due to lightning, the first round was completed this morning at Allerum Golf Club.
Gainer led by one stroke ahead of Poland’s Dorota Zalewska and it was a steadier day for the Englishwoman who carded a round of 71 (-1).
The 28-year-old had two birdies and one bogey on the scorecard and sits in a share of first place at the top of the leaderboard.
“I feel absolutely exhausted to be honest, I probably had maximum five hours sleep,” she said. “It was a really tough day yesterday, it was very long.
“Having to get up at the crack of dawn this morning and go out again. I played steady, didn’t make too many mistakes, I didn’t quite have my game like yesterday. I wasn’t swinging maybe as smoothly but tried to minimise mistakes and keep myself in the tournament.
“Hopefully, that score will be doing alright by the end of the day. I’m going to physio, I will ice my wrist, eat and have a nice lie down and relax. I need to recover and get ready for a big day tomorrow.
“I just need to really focus on my game plan, it’s going to stay pretty similar and I’m hoping I’m going to feel pretty fresh tomorrow and ready to come out of the gate quickly and put some pressure on everyone else behind me.”
It was an excellent day for Urs, who fired the joint-best round of the day with a bogey-free 66 (-6) to move into a share of the lead.
The Indian star rolled in birdies on holes three, five, six, nine to make the turn in four-under and then added further birdies on 12 and 18.
“I think everything went well,” said the 21-year-old. “My tee shots were pretty good, and my approaches were good as well. Putting was good, so I think it was easier to get those five six-footers in. Overall, a good day.
“I’m just trying to get comfortable here and as the week goes, take one day at a time, so that’s good for me. I’m not thinking too far ahead or what’s happened on the previous hole if it was bad. I’m taking one shot at a time as well which has been pretty good.
“This week has been pretty bad because of my back, I had to withdraw last week. That’s taken a little toll on my back but hopefully, the physio can do some magic and I can play tomorrow.
“I just want to hit as many fairways and greens as possible, give myself opportunities. If I don’t convert them, at least I’m giving myself opportunities and stress-free pars. That’s the plan.”
Urs has her boyfriend Karandeep Kochhar, who is a professional golfer, caddying for her this week and is enjoying having him alongside her.
She added: “He knows my game pretty well and back home when we play together it’s pretty competitive. It’s nice to ease things off between us on the golf course. I’m excited that he’s here and that we could get a good round today.”
Six players are in a share of third place with Spain’s Mireia Prat, Poland’s Dorota Zalewska, Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson, France’s Perrine Delacour, Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup and Belgium’s Manon De Roey all on six-under-par.
Zalewska, who is a rookie, finished her first round this morning producing a 66 (-6) before shooting a round of even par on day two.
“It was solid golf,” said the Polish player. “I was giving myself chances and I was able to make some putts. I was trying to finish the whole round, but unfortunately not. This morning, I finished on a high note and then had a quick break.
“I went off of my flow and made two mistakes which cost me bogeys, but I knew I was playing good golf, so was giving myself chances and made putts. I’m happy that I finished with birdie and almost eagle! It was positive, I’m happy and I look forward to tomorrow.
“I’m happy that I am giving myself chances that I am playing to make birdies because it so opposite of what I had at the beginning of the season. I’m happy that the work is going towards a good direction and I’m progressing for the last four tournaments. We’ll see, it’s golf you never know. I’m positive, I know I’m hitting it well and putting it decent as well.”
Sweden’s Gustavsson also produced the round of the day with a 66 (-6) to sit just two shots back from the leaders.
The LET winner made an eagle on the fifth hole alongside five birdies and one bogey to be in a share of third place.
“I feel like I played solid both yesterday and today,” said Gustavsson. “Yesterday, we misread a lot of the putts, we didn’t hole many. It was quite a boring round with only birdie and one bogey.
“Today I started with a birdie on the first which was a nice surprise after yesterday and it just kept rolling on. I played solid, and made an eagle on five which helps the score a lot. It was a solid round, a bit more wind at the end. I’m happy to be in.
“Tomorrow, hopefully I will keep holing some putts. You can play this course a bit differently. Some play it quite aggressively hitting driver off almost every tee, which you can, but I find it narrow in parts so don’t do that. That has worked so far, I’ll keep doing that and hopefully take advantage of the holes that are a bit shorter.”
Five players sit in a tie for ninth place with Finland’s Emily Penttila, Germany’s Patricia Isabel Schmidt, Sweden’s Moa Folke, England’s Gemma Clews and Switzerland’s Kim Metraux all on five-under-par.
The cut fell at +1 with 67 players making it through to the final day of action at the Dormy Open Helsingborg.
Round three will get underway at 7.15 am (local time) with the leaders teeing off at 11.15 am (local time) at Allerum Golf Club.
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