Pranavi Urs Rises to Challenge at Andalucia Costa del Sol Open

Pranavi Urs delivered an impressive bogey-free round of six-under 66, tying for second place at the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana, just one stroke behind Finland's Noora Komulainen. Aditi Ashok, the defending champion, posted a round of two-under 70, while other Indian golfers had mixed results.

In a dazzling performance, Pranavi Urs fired a bogey-free round of six-under 66, earning her a share of second place in the opening round of the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana. Urs sits just one shot behind Noora Komulainen of Finland, who led with a stellar 65 at Real Club Guadalhorce Golf.

This marks a strong start for Pranavi in her rookie season on the Ladies European Tour (LET), as she birdied holes two, three, seven, eight, twelve, and eighteen. The leaderboard's second-place trio also includes Germany's Helen Briem, Patricia Isabel Schmidt, and Spain's Ana Pelaez Trivino, each recording rounds of 66.

Among other Indian competitors, defending champion Aditi Ashok shot two-under 70 to tie for 20th place, while Diksha Dagar and Tvesa Malik ended their rounds with 71 and 72 respectively. Highlighting her performance, Aditi topped her round with five birdies and managed to overcome three bogeys, demonstrating her resilience on the course.

Pranavi, expressing satisfaction, remarked, "I started off pretty good, creating many opportunities. It's been weeks since our last event, so I wasn't sure what to expect but managing a bogey-free six-under has shown me my game's still strong."

Finland's Noora Komulainen, launching her round from the 10th tee, sparkled with three consecutive birdies on 11, 12, and 13, and after a minor setback on the 16th, she birdied multiple holes on her back nine to finish at seven-under, clinching the lead. Slovenia's Pia Babnik and Spain's Carlota Ciganda jointly hold sixth place at five-under-par. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)