Oct 28, 2016: Gwladys Nocera of France and local rookie professional Yan Liu fired matching second rounds of 70 in hot and humid conditions to share the lead heading into the final round of the Sanya Ladies Open at Yalong Bay Golf Club in Hainan, China. Indian golfers Saaniya Sharma and Neha Tripathi made the cut, but Vani Kapoor, Smriti Mehra and Amandeep Drall fell through the sieve.
Nocera, a 14-time Ladies European Tour tournament winner from France and local rookie professional Liu, 18, sit at six-under-par.
They are one stroke ahead of Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall, German rookie Leticia Ras-Anderica and Thai pair Prima Thammaraks and Saraporn Chamchoi.
Amelia Lewis of the United States (below) had been at seven-under-par after 16 holes but double bogeyed the 17th after finding the water off the tee and then bogeyed the last to drop into a five-way share of seventh on four-under-par.
Neha Tripathi, overnight T7, slipped badly on the second day. She shot a string of bogeys, including four in a row at one point to drop down the order. Neha Tripathi ended the second round in T53 after making 78, laced with eight bogeys and two birdies.
Saaniya Sharma (T44) was the best Indian on show in the second round. Saaniya made three birdies in an even 72 that included a clean run through the back nine. Saaniya Sharma suffered a bogey at the third hole and a double bogey at the next, but the three birdies helped her return to the clubhouse in even par.
Vani Kapoor added a 75 to her 74 in the first round to end her tournament just beneath the cut line. The knife sliced out everyone below four over and Vani Kapoor’s score of 149 came just on the wrong end of the knife.
Smriti Mehra also fell out of the tournament after failing to keep up with a solid 72 in the opening round. Smriti made 77 on Friday to join a large group of golfers at 149.
Amandeep Drall had the poorest start of all the Indians and never quite recovered from there. She posted a 78 in the second round, to add to the 80 she endured in the first round to pack her bags early.
