Hitaashee Bakshi surged into the top 10 after the second round of the Australian WPGA Championship in Gold Coast, emerging as the leading Indian in the field.
Bakshi carded a 3-under 68 to add to her opening 69, moving to 5-under 137 and into tied eighth place at the halfway stage.
Diksha Dagar, who had opened strongly, slipped slightly with a 1-over 72 but remained well in contention at tied 16th and 3-under overall.
Pranavi Urs made the cut on the line at 2-over after rounds of 72-72 and is placed tied 60th, while Vani Kapoor missed the cut by one shot after finishing at 3-over.
At the top, Australia’s Hannah Green continued her dominant run, carding a 4-under 67 to reach 10-under and take a two-shot lead. England’s Meghan MacLaren sits second at 8-under following rounds of 66 and 68.
Bakshi’s round gathered momentum on the front nine, where she fired three consecutive birdies to climb the leaderboard. Her accuracy off the tee stood out as she hit every fairway and gave herself consistent scoring opportunities.
Diksha, meanwhile, mixed two birdies with three bogeys in her round of 72, with missed greens proving costly despite finding every fairway.
Pranavi secured her weekend spot with a steady effort, using late birdies to stay on the right side of the cut line.
With two rounds remaining, Bakshi holds the strongest Indian position heading into the weekend, while Diksha remains within striking distance in a tightly packed leaderboard.
Photo – LET
