Women's Golf Association of India

Diksha stays in contention as all four Indians make cut; Carolina Chacarra takes control in Belgium

Hulencourt, Belgium, July 4: Diksha Dagar remained firmly in the title race despite a late stumble, while all four Indian golfers advanced to the weekend at the Hulencourt Women's Open as Spain's Carolina Chacarra produced the round of the day at 65 to seize a two-shot lead after the second round.

Diksha, who shared the overnight lead after an opening bogey-free 68, carded an even-par 72 to slip into a tie for third at four-under for the tournament. The Hero-supported Indian looked set for another strong round before two late bogeys halted her momentum, but she stayed within striking distance heading into the final 36 holes.

The left-hander mixed three birdies with three bogeys in an otherwise steady performance and is part of a five-way tie for third place, keeping alive hopes of adding a third Ladies European Tour title to her resume.

India also had another player inside the top 10 with Aditi Ashok making an impressive return to the Ladies European Tour. The experienced Indian followed her opening 70 with a composed one-under 71 to move to three-under overall and into a share of eighth place.

Aditi's round was a model of consistency. She made just one birdie while avoiding mistakes for the rest of the day, carding 17 pars to remain well placed heading into the weekend.

Avani Prashanth also ensured a productive second round despite a difficult start. Beginning on the 10th tee, Avani found herself two-over through her opening 11 holes including a costly double bogey on the par-four 16th. However, she displayed admirable resilience, responding with three birdies against a lone bogey over her final seven holes to salvage a second successive 72. At even-par for the championship, she was tied for 18th.

Pranavi Urs made it four out of four for India by making the cut despite a challenging day. After opening with a one-over 73, she carded 76 to finish at five-over, exactly on the cut mark, and was tied for 56th.

While the Indian quartet remained in contention, it was Spain's Carolina Chacarra who stole the spotlight with a flawless seven-under 65 to climb to nine-under overall and open up a two-shot advantage.

Playing only her second Ladies European Tour event of the season, the 23-year-old rookie produced a bogey-free masterclass, collecting birdies on the 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th, first, fourth and fifth holes. Having secured her LET card through Qualifying School last December, Chacarra has largely competed on the LPGA Tour this year, making two cuts and recording a top-25 finish.

Chacarra credited both confidence and family inspiration for her performance. Her elder brother, Eugenio Chacarra, has enjoyed a breakthrough season on the DP World Tour with victories in the Dutch Open and Italian Open, and the siblings have been closely following each other's progress. The brother won his maiden DP World title at Hero Indian Open in 2025.

She also acknowledged the influence of her new caddie Ivan, an experienced Argentine with more than two decades on the professional circuit, who joined her only last week but has already helped bring greater confidence to her game.

Australia's Kelsey Bennett occupied second place on seven-under after a polished five-under 67. One of the form players on the LET this season, Bennett sits high on the Order of Merit and once again showed her liking for Hulencourt, where she led after the opening round last year before finishing tied 10th.

Sharing third place with Diksha at four-under were Switzerland's Morgane Metraux, South Africa's Nadia van der Westhuizen, England's Bronte Law and Ireland's Anna Foster. While Metraux, Van der Westhuizen, Law and Diksha all returned level-par 72s, Foster climbed the leader board with a three-under 69.

Aditi shared eighth place with Thailand's Trichat Cheenglab, while New Zealand's Momoka Kobori and Australia's Kirsten Rudgeley rounded out the top 10 at two-under.

With the cut falling at five-over par and 70 players advancing, India will have four representatives over the weekend. Diksha remains the country's best hope of challenging for the title, but Aditi is also within touching distance, while Avani has an opportunity to climb further with two rounds remaining. As Chacarra attempts to convert her breakthrough lead into a maiden LET title, the Indian contingent will be aiming to make a strong charge over the closing two rounds in Belgium.