Augusta National Women's Amateur: Indian-origin Megha Ganne slips to tied third; Romero, Woad share lead

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New Delhi, April 5: Indian-origin amateur Megha Ganne slipped to tied third after carding a modest one-over 73 in the second round of the 2025 Augusta National Women's Amateur at the Champions Retreat Golf Club in Georgia late on Friday (April 4). Kiara Romero and Lottie Woad share the 36-hole lead at nine-under 135.

Three players were just one stroke back of the lead entering Saturday's final round to be played at the iconic Augusta National. A total of 32 players made the cut, which fell at one-under 143, the lowest in six years. The previous record for the lowest cut was two-over 146, set in 2023.

Nine players advanced to the final round in their Championship debut: Emma Kaisa Bunch, Caroline Canales, Kary Hollenbaugh, Minseo Jung, Ko Kurabayashi, Mackenzie Lee, Elise Lee, Scarlett Schremmer and Achiraya Sriwong.

Romero, the No. 5 amateur in the world, began her day with a birdie at the 10th hole and made the turn with a bogey-free three-under 33. A fourth birdie got her to four-under on the day, but a double bogey-bogey sequence at Nos. 4 and 5 brought her back to one-under. She finished birdie-birdie-birdie to climb back to nine-under.

"I feel like I have a lot more control over the mental side of it. I had a double and a bogey back-to-back on 4 and 5, so I didn't let that get to me. I actually ended up with birdieing the last three holes. So I feel like that kind of shows the way my game has matured from last year," said Romero, who missed the cut in the last edition of the tournament.

"I think already being there once kind of lets me know what I'm preparing for and stuff. I'm definitely going to enjoy the moment being there, but just going to try to do my best to take notes of the course and see where are the good spots and create a good game plan for Saturday," she added.

Defending champion Woad, also the top-ranked amateur, followed her opening-round 65 with a two-under 70. At one point during the round, she claimed a three-stroke lead, but a late bogey at the par-3 eighth hole dropped her into a share of the lead at nine-under.

"I knew I was going off earlier than Megha, so I just thought if I could maybe get a few birdies to start, I could kind of show that I could catch her, and I managed to do that. I think the pins were definitely a lot harder, so I had to adjust a little bit on that. Some holes you kind of had to play away from a little bit, whereas yesterday I feel like I could really attack every pin. So I had to be a bit more patient today," Woad said later.

Leading Scores (Champions Retreat Golf Club - Par 72)

• 9-under 135 - Kiara Romero, Lottie Woad
• 136 - Carla Bernat Escuder, Andrea Revuelta
• 137 - Megha Ganne