India’s Smriti tied second at Ladies Indonesia Open

Jakarta: Indian golfer Smriti Mehra was tied second after carding an even-par 72 in the second round which spilled onto the third day because of lightning at the Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open here.

Smriti was in lead at the end of the first round with a card of 69. After the second round, she was one shot behind Malaysian amateur Kelly Tan (71-69) and shared the second place with Thai Kongkapan Patcharatchuta (71-70). There was a lot of cheer for the Indian camp as rookie Vani Kapoor (76-70) moved to 11th place and Neha Tripathi (75-73) was tied 21st. Saaniya Sharma (78-75) was 46th. When play stopped early yesterday Malaysian amateur Michelle Koh and South African Connie Chen were the clubhouse on one-under 143 at the Palm Hill Golf club. Smriti and Kelly Tan were then at three-under for the tournament after 12 holes. Smriti finished at par, while Kelly found a birdie to move one shot ahead at four-under 140. Patcharachuta Kongkapan, playing in the same group, was at two-under and she also moved to three-under 141. "I am level par for my round so I am playing comfortably but it was frustrating to have to stop. It was nice to be leading though and the final day should be an exciting one," Mehra said. The Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open features 84 players. The tournament is played over 54 holes with no cut being made. It is the most lucrative women`s National Open in South East Asia with the winner earning a cheque for USD 30,000. PTI