Avani Prashanth fights back to make cut at Amundi German Masters

Hamburg [Germany], May 16 (ANI): Indian golfer Avani Prashanth delivered a spirited second-round performance to emerge as the only Indian golfer to make the cut at the Amundi German Masters in Hamburg on Saturday.

According to a release, the young golfer fired an impressive 4-under 69 -- the second-best round of the day -- to move to 1-over par overall, safely inside the cut line that was set at 2-over par. She finished the day tied for 47th place.

Competing in only her second season on the Ladies European Tour (LET), Avani showed remarkable composure after a difficult opening round. Her turnaround began early in the second round when she eagled the par-5 fourth hole, a sharp contrast to the double bogey she suffered on the same hole on the opening day.

Starting from the front nine, Avani steadily built momentum and carried her form into the back stretch. She added birdies on the 11th and 13th holes to climb further up the leaderboard. Although she dropped her lone shot of the day on the 14th hole, the Indian golfer recovered strongly with another birdie on the 17th to close with a superb 4-under 69.

Avani's strong showing continues a promising run of form after her tied-fifth finish at the Hero Women's Indian Open earlier this season.

The other two Indians in the field, however, failed to progress into the weekend rounds. Pranavi Urs carded a second-round score of 1-over par to finish at 4-over overall, missing the cut and ending in tied 72nd position. Vani Kapoor had earlier withdrawn from the tournament after the first round.

At the top of the leaderboard, Germany's Esther Henseleit delighted home fans by taking the lead at 9-under par after rounds of 64 and 71. Henseleit mixed five birdies with three bogeys during her second round to maintain a one-shot advantage heading into the weekend.

Czech golfer Sara Kouskova produced the round of the day with a stunning 7-under 64 to move into second place at 8-under overall. Her round included a spectacular eagle after holing out from a bunker on the 11th hole, along with six birdies and just one bogey.

Four players shared third place at 6-under par -- Norway's Dorthea Forbrigd and German trio Alexandra Forsterling, Chiara Noja, and Leonie Harm. Defending champion Forsterling carded consecutive rounds of 70, while Noja continued her encouraging comeback from a shoulder injury with back-to-back 3-under rounds, the release said.

A group of six players remained tied for seventh at 5-under par, while Australia's Kelsey Bennett produced one of the highlights of the tournament with a hole-in-one on the par-3 second hole.

A total of 64 players advanced to the weekend after the cut was finalised at 2-over par. (ANI)

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