First round co-leader Thidapa Sunawannapura of Thailand set the clubhouse target at four-under-par after a second round of two-over 74 early Friday at the Hero Women’s Indian Open, while fellow overnight joint leader Valentine Derrey (pictured in front of a tomb from the Lodhi era) had a three-over 75 to sit a stroke back on three-under-par.
After setting out early in cool and misty conditions, Sunawannapura struggled to get the pace of the greens and made four bogeys, but had a free drop from a cart path to make a second birdie on 18.
“My putts for birdie were all short on the back nine. The greens were trickier and the pin positions were harder,” said the 21-year-old from Thailand. “I think it’s harder playing in the morning than in the afternoon.”
Despite being a member of the LPGA Tour, she says that winning the Hero Women’s Indian Open would be her greatest achievement to date.
“It’s exciting! You cannot expect anything on this course. What’s going to happen is going to happen.On 13, today I hit a three-wood into a bush and it came out by two yards. I hit the next shot two yards and then four to the front and chipped in for five for a bogey. So there was a little luck. This could be my tournament!” she said.
Derrey made par on each of the first eight holes but double bogeyed the ninth and bogeyed the 10th.
“I missed my drive on nine and made double bogey and then missed my approach shot on 10 and made bogey: that’s it. I didn’t make a putt today. I hit 15 greens, just missed two holes,” said the 26-year-old from France.
“The course is really narrow so you have to hit good shots at the right moment. You have to think where to hit your shot and what to do. I’m going to practice my putting and we’ll see what happens tomorrow. I didn’t play badly, I just had to bad holes. My putts weren’t bad but were hitting the edge all the time so if they drop it could be a different story.”
Hannah Jun, Charley Hull and Sophie Gustafson are among the leading players out in the hot and sunny conditions this afternoon.
Today is cut day and the leading 60 players plus ties will progress to Saturday’s third and final round.
