Sharmila in hunt for title, Lahiri tied-19th

Beijing, May 25 

Sharmila Nicollet kept herself in the title hunt with a steady 2-under 70 that brought her to 6-under for 36 holes at the Le Coq Sportif Beijing Ladies Classic. 

Nicollet is tied-2nd and one shot behind the leader, 16-year-old amateur Liu Wenbo, who shot a 6-under 66 on the second day. Liu carded 71 on the first day. Nicollet shares the second place with China’s 19-year-old Shi Yuting (73-66) and Sui Xiang (71-68). Nicollet opened with a bogey but soon steadied herself. She had birdies on the 13th, her fourth hole of the day, the par-3 17th, and par-5 fourth and no more bogeys. 

Nicollet said, “I just want to stay fit and calm for one more day as I have been somewhat under the weather, but my game is in good shape. My goal has been to keep playing under par and results will follow. It was so in Hong Kong, where I was tied-16 and here I have been maintaining that.”

The long-hitting Nicollet added, “My putting was inconsistent. I have been working on the strokes and changed my putter last month. It is working well.”

The 27-year-old is on a comeback trail and is dividing her time between China LPGA and Ladies European Tour. She had a good finish in Hong Kong Ladies, where she was tied-16.

Lahiri in form

Fort Worth (US): With a new putter in his bag, Anirban Lahiri reeled off three birdies in a row and finished the day at a solid 3-under 67 in the first round of the Fort Worth Invitational at the Colonial Country Club. Lahiri carded five birdies against two bogeys and was tied-19th after the opening day. 

Shubhankar Sharma suffered a disastrous triple on the 15th, his sixth hole of the day. He had another bogey on the 17th, but settled thereafter. He birdied the 10th and parred the entire back nine for a round of 73. Kevin Na grabbed the sole lead at an 8-under 62, one clear of Charley Hoffman (63), who was also bogey-free like Na. — Agencies