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Diksha Dagar stays at third after second round in Morocco

Rabat, Morocco, April 27: Diksha Dagar hung in tenaciously on a tough day in the second round the Lalla Meryem Cup on an extremely windy day at Golf Dar Es Salam in Morocco. Diksha, who was third after the first round, stayed Tied-third despite a two-over 75. She was tied with three others at two-under 144.

Nuria Iturrios from Spain had a one-shot lead into the final two rounds after carding a two-under-par 71. Iturrios, 23, made three birdies on the front nine and missed a short putt at the par-3 13th to sit at seven-under-par. The 2016 event champion is a stroke ahead of the first round leader Lina Boqvist, with Eleanor Givens, Camilla Lennarth, Diksha Dagar and Noemi Jimenez Martin four strokes further back.

Diksha, winner of the Investec South African Women’s Open, opened the week with four-under 69. Into the second round, Dagar had three birdies against five bogeys.

Iturrios is full of confidence as she won her second professional title on the Santander Golf Tour a fortnight ago.

Her coach, Jose Luis Palacios, who was acting as her caddie a fortnight ago, is back this week.

On a day when a gusty, swirling breeze, tough pin positions and firm greens made for difficult scoring conditions, the 27-year-old Swede Boqvist carded a one-over-par 74, having hit just nine fairways during her round.

The breeze is expected to decrease in the third round as warmer weather filters into the area for the weekend.