Diksha Dagar keeps lead after two rounds in Irish Open

Diksha Dagar fired a round of threeunder 69 on Day Two of the Womenrsquos Irish Open and leads by one shot at the halfway stageThe Indian star held the overnight lead but didnrsquot get off to the best start with a bogey on the first at Dromoland Castle However she soon found a rhythm rolling in backtoback birdies on five and six before another dropped shot on 14Four of the five Indians who started this week made the cut Diksha was right on top Vani Kapoor 70 was T45 Ridhima Dilawari 72 was T51 and Tvesa Malik 72 was T59 Amandeep Drall was the only Indian to miss the cut with 7574 The cut fell at 1over with 70 players making itDiksha Dagar the twotime Ladies European Tour LET winner who won last month in the Czech Republic also has five Top10 finishes She finished her second round in style with three birdies in her final four holes for a round of threeunderpar and to sit at the top of the leaderboard with a total of 10underparldquoToday I struggled a little bit because I played very well yesterdayrdquo said Diksha ldquoI handled it very well today and finished with a respectable score of threeunderldquoOn the 17th hole I had a long birdie putt I thought wow yes because I was feeling a little bad on 16 as I missed a birdie putt I was making a target that I should finish on a respectable score of two or three underAlso read India U16 start with narrow win over BangladeshldquoAfter making a birdie on 17 I had a fist pump and it made me feel confident I attacked the flag on 18 and I had a very good putt left The weekend is going to be a very good experience Irsquom getting used to it and Irsquom going to feel good and stay focusedrdquo she saidThree players sit in a tie for second place with Anne Van Dam of the Netherlands Indian American Gurleen Kaur and Francersquos Emma Grechi all on nineunderparIt was an excellent round of 66 6 on the second day for fivetime LET winner Van Dam as she had one bogey and seven birdies on her scorecardLET rookie Gurleen Kaur shot a 66 on the opening day and followed that up with a 69 3 on day two in IrelandThe American made a bogey on the fourth but bounced back with a birdie on the fifth before another dropped shot on the eighthHowever a holeout eagle on the ninth saw Kaur regain momentum and she rolled in birdies on 11 and 17 to have a total of nineunderparFrancersquos Grechi also backed up her opening round of sixunder with a round of threeunder which included three bogeys and six birdiesFrancersquos AnneLise Caudal sits in outright fifth place on eightunderpar after backtoback rounds of 68 at Dromoland CastleFour players sit in a tie for sixth place with Spainrsquos Elena Hualde Swedenrsquos Lisa Pettersson and English duo Meghan MacLaren and Alice Hewson all on sevenunderparWith IANS inputs