Lalla Meryem Cup: Pranavi makes strong start, shares second spot in Morocco
Rabat, May 23
India's rising star Pranavi Urs produced a composed and confident opening round of 3-under 70 to move into tied second place after the first day at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco. The 23-year-old stayed firmly in contention in a tightly packed leaderboard, just two shots behind Australia's Kelsey Bennett, who carded a superb 5-under 68 to take the outright lead.
Pranavi, who has shown consistent form in recent months, once again demonstrated her growing maturity on the Ladies European Tour. Starting from the back nine, she settled in quickly with an early birdie on the 11th hole and then played steady golf with seven successive pars to make the turn at 1-under.
Her momentum gathered pace on the front nine as she reeled off three consecutive birdies on the first, second and third holes to briefly challenge for the lead. A bogey on the fourth halted the charge, but Pranavi responded calmly with pars on each of the remaining five holes to close a fine opening round and earn a share of second place alongside nine other players.
The Indian golfer has been knocking on the door of a breakthrough title. Last season, she finished inside the top 10 at the Women's Indian Open, and she also made headlines by winning the IGPL Invitational Mumbai in a mixed professional field, becoming the first Indian woman professional to achieve that feat against male professionals.
Leader Bennett mixed seven birdies with two bogeys during an impressive round. The Australian picked up shots on the first, second, seventh, eighth, 12th, 13th and 16th holes, with her only blemishes coming on the 14th and 15th.
Among the other Indians in the field, Avani Prashanth and Diksha Dagar endured difficult starts as both returned rounds of 2-over 75 to be tied 61st. Hitaashee Bakshi carded a 5-over 78 and was placed tied 99th.
Avani's round was highlighted by a costly quadruple bogey on the second hole of her front nine, though she fought back with birdies on the same hole and the eighth later in the round. Diksha's lone birdie came on the second hole, but consecutive bogeys on the fifth and sixth prevented her from finishing under par.
Hitaashee struggled early with five bogeys on the back nine before recovering slightly with late birdies on the eighth and ninth holes.
Japan's Ayako Uehara, Singapore's Shannon Tan and England's Hannah Screen were the only players among the top contenders to remain bogey-free during the opening round, as all three joined Pranavi in the group tied for second.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Finally some good news from Indian sports! Pranavi has been consistent for a while now. That win at IGPL against male professionals was no fluke. She's got the game to win on the LET. But we need to improve our depth - Avani and Diksha had a tough day at 2-over. More support for women's golf please! 🙏
Impressive composure from Pranavi. Started on the back nine, got that early birdie, then seven straight pars - that's the kind of discipline that wins tournaments. Three consecutive birdies on the front nine shows she can attack when needed. Two shots off the lead with three rounds to go, very much in the mix. Let's go Pranavi! 💪
Good to see Pranavi in form, but we need more Indians making the cut regularly. Avani had a quadruple bogey - that's painful to see. Hope she learns from this. The competition is getting tougher, and players like Kelsey Bennett from Australia are setting high standards. Pranavi needs to stay aggressive but smart over the next three days.
This is promising! Pranavi has been knocking on the door for a while. Remember her Women's Indian Open top-10 last season? She's got the talent. What I like is how she kept her cool after the bogey on the 4th - that's the mark of a champion. Three more rounds to go, but she's in a great position. All the best! 🌟
So proud of our girls! Pranavi showing the way. But
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