London, Aug 9 (IANS) Diksha Dagar and Aditi Ashok remained inside the Top-20 after the third round of the $2 million PIF London Championship at Centurion Club on Saturday, while Pranavi Urs slipped down the leaderboard following a difficult outing.
Diksha, a carded a 1-over 72 to move up three places from tied-22nd to tied-19th. She stands at 1-under 215 after 54 holes, having opened the tournament with rounds of 75 and 70.
Aditi, meanwhile, followed her opening rounds of 71 and 73 with another 73 to remain tied-19th. She had started the day tied-16th.
Pranavi had been the leading Indian after the opening two rounds, climbing to tied-12th following rounds of 71 and 72. However, a 6-over 78 in the third round dropped her to tied-38th at 5-over 221.
Diksha, currently the highest-ranked Indian on the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit, will now look to close the tournament strongly in the final round.
At the top of the leaderboard, Canada’s Anna Huang strengthened her grip on the tournament with a bogey-free 8-under 65. The 18-year-old moved to 19-under and opened up a three-shot advantage over England’s Charley Hull heading into the final round.
Huang, a three-time LET winner who secured her third title in May, has led the tournament from the opening round. She began her third round with a birdie on the first hole and added another on the fourth before producing back-to-back birdies on the eighth and ninth.
She repeated the feat on the 14th and 15th before ending her round in spectacular fashion with an eagle on the 18th for the third successive day.
A victory in London would see Huang become the youngest player to win four LET titles.
Hull occupies sole second place at 16-under after a 6-under 67. The five-time LET winner made nine birdies and three bogeys in her third round, following her stunning 11-under performance on the second day.
With the title race headed for a final-round showdown, the Indian trio will look to finish their campaigns strongly, with Diksha and Aditi positioned inside the Top-20 and Pranavi aiming to recover from her third-round setback.
–IANS
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