Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific: Bogey-free Anika Varma closes in on the leader in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI: India's Anika Varma was one of only two players in the field not to drop a shot in the first two rounds of the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP).

Varma shot a four-under-par 68, moving to seven-under-par 137 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club's National course. She was three shots behind the leader, Thailand's Natthakritta Vongtaveelap, who was also shot a bogey-free 68 to keep her two-shot lead intact at the halfway stage.

Japan's Mizuki Hashimoto of Japan added a second straight 68 to move to eight-under-par, where she was joined in a tied-second position by Australian Kelsey Bennett (67).

Eight Indian girls were in contention here — two of them nominated by host nation UAE. Five of them made the cut, which was applied at two-over-par 146.

Bengaluru's 15-year-old Avani Prashanth added a second straight 71 to be tied 20th at two-under-par. One shot behind and in tied 26th place were Purdue University star Sifat Sagoo (72), and Natalii Gupta (69), who is Dubai-born and nominated for the tournament by the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF).

Jaipur's Kriti Chowhan made it to the final two rounds in stunning fashion. Four-over after the first round, an early bogey on her first hole of the day (10th of the course), pushed her back to 5-over and way outside the cut line. She then proceeded to play the remaining 17 holes without dropping a shot and making three birdies.

Hyderabad's Sneha Singh (73-75) and Mumbai's Nishna Patel (78-78) missed the cut.

The Sacramento, US-based 17-year-old Varma, who burst into the limelight with an incredible fifth-place finish as a 15-year-old at the 2019 Women's Indian Open, started from where she left in her opening round, making a birdie on her first hole. She then added three more — on the par-5 eighth, the par-3 12th, and the par-4 16th hole. IANS

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