India’s Tvesa Malik carded a three-under 71 to stay in tied fourth place after the second round of the Standard Bank Ladies Open here.
Tvesa, who shot 1-under 73 on the first day at the Par-74 course, was four-under for two rounds with one more day to go.
A multiple winner on her domestic Pro Golf Tour in India and a winner in South Africa last month, Tvesa is four shots behind the first round leader Kylie Henry of Scotland.
After a first round 69, Kylie added a 71 to be 8-under 140.
Tvesa made good use of the Par-5s, as three of her six birdies came on them. Tvesa opened the second day with a bogey, but hit back fast with three birdies between the third and the sixth and added three pars to turn in 2-under.
On the back nine, Tvesa birdied the Par-5s on the 11th and the 14th to get closer to the top before she was pulled back by bogeys on the 15th and the 17th.
A closing birdie was a good way to end the day as she aims for another good finish in South Africa.
South African duo Cassandra Alexander (74-69) and Gabrielle Venter (74-69) shot identical scores for the second day running and moved into shared second place at 5-under 143.
Tvesa, French golfer Emie Peronnin (73-71) and England’s Florentyna Parker (73-71) were tied fourth at 4-under 144.
The top 30 and ties make the cut, which was projected at 3-over 149.
The field this week includes all three winners on the Sunshine Ladies Tour this year with Kylie Henry, Tvesa Malik and Helen Kreuzer. They have been joined by Kiera Floyd, Gabrielle Venter, Nicole Garcia, Cara Gorlei, Tandi McCallum, Nadia van der Westhuizen and Stacy Bregman.
The 54-hole tournament carried a purse of 600,000 and is the fourth event of the schedule for this year.
The tournament will also play a key role in determining the overall Sunshine Ladies Tour Order of Merit champion, with the winner here earning an historic exemption in the Sunshine Tour’s new Waterfall City Tournament of Champions to be played in May.
All winners from the 2024 Sunshine Ladies Tour will also be exempt into the event.
