Pranavi Urs drew on the resilience that delivered her Asian Games gold medal to move into contention at the Hero Women’s Indian Open, while Chiara Tamburlini retained control of the championship after a demanding second round at the DLF Golf and Country Club.
Playing through a stomach ailment, Pranavi recovered from an opening bogey to return a two-under 70. At four-under after 36 holes, the Hero MotoCorp brand ambassador finished two strokes behind Tamburlini and firmly in the title race.
Her response carried echoes of the Asian Games, where she overcame an early triple bogey in the final round before winning gold. Pranavi again resisted the temptation to monitor the leaderboard constantly, concentrating instead on navigating one of the Ladies European Tour’s most unforgiving layouts.
After eight successive pars steadied her round, she collected three birdies on her second nine to turn a difficult start into another valuable under-par score.
“My stomach hasn’t been the best this week, so I’m trying to keep it together,” Pranavi said. “One bad hole doesn’t mean you cannot come back.”
Tamburlini, meanwhile, added a one-under 71 to her opening 67 to reach six-under and retain the clubhouse lead by two strokes.
The 2024 LET Order of Merit champion has endured a difficult transition to the LPGA Tour this season, but her return to familiar competition has brought renewed confidence. Beginning on the 10th, she birdied her opening hole before responding to a bogey on the eighth with a closing birdie.
Between those moments, the Swiss player compiled 15 consecutive pars, an indication of the patience and discipline required at DLF.
Defending champion Shannon Tan experienced the other side of the course. One shot off the lead overnight, the Singaporean slipped to tied 15th following a five-over 77 that left her at one-over overall.
Asian Games gold medallist Pranavi Urs🏅 and Bronze 🥉 medallist Shannon Tan making time for young fans after their second round. Autographs, smiles and memories to take home #HWIO2026 https://t.co/SjVqXFA0sm
— Dead Solid Perfect🎙️ (@Deadsolidp) October 23, 2026
Sara Kouskova remained in touch with the leaders after an even-par 72. The Czech golfer balanced three bogeys with three birdies and closed with seven consecutive pars to reach three-under, three behind Tamburlini.
Vani Kapoor made one of the day’s biggest moves. Beginning from the 10th, she holed out for an eagle on the 14th and followed it immediately with a birdie. The burst helped her climb from tied 22nd to tied seventh.
Tvesa Malik reached the halfway stage at level par following rounds of 71 and 73. Avani Prashanth, tied fifth overnight, dropped to tied 18th after a 76, while Diksha Dagar was set to miss the cut after following her opening 77 with an 80.
The day’s landmark performance belonged to 13-year-old amateur Ojaswini Saraswat. The Jaipur golfer rebounded from an opening 79 with a three-under 69 to become the youngest Indian to make the cut at an LET event.
Ojaswini birdied all four par-threes and completed her round with three consecutive birdies. She surpassed Aditi Ashok, who was 14 when she played the 2012 Hero Women’s Indian Open, and became the second-youngest player to make an LET cut after Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn achieved the feat at 12.
With the cut projected at nine-over, 10 Indians, including two amateurs, were expected to advance to the weekend. Saturday’s third round was provisionally scheduled to begin at 9am.
Players also wore pink ribbons during the second round as part of Hero MotoCorp’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month initiative, promoting early detection and timely medical care.
Photo – HWIO
