Diksha Dagar fired birdies on her final two holes to salvage her third round and keep keep hopes alive of victory in the $400,000 Hero Women’s Indian Open at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon on Saturday.

With a 1 over 71, the left hander was in fourth place and five shots behind overnight leader Aline Krauter of Germany who made the most of Moving Day to put a two-shot cushion between herself and the chasing pack. The LET rookie shot a 4 under 68 in the course of which she dropped her only bogey over the last 36 holes,

Looking to make in two in a row by a German golfer, Krauter was two shots ahead of Sweden’s Sara Kjellker who has been in fine form with five top-10 finishes in her last six starts and recovered from an opening double bogey to bring home a 68 and climb into second place on 9-under.

Lying third was opening round leader and Kjellker’s close friend, Madelene Stavnar of Norway (69) who also started with a double but rebounded to shoot a 69. She had 66 and 74 on the first two days.

Diksha had three birdies on the front nine and three on the back with two bogeys on either side. India’s top contender is currently fourth on the Race to Costa Del Sol and can get to the top of the Order of Merit with a first or second place finish.

Dagar said later, “It was a roller-coaster of a round. Today, I could have definitely done better. The greens were very fast today, probably two times faster than yesterday.

“I have to accept this, this is what golf is. I’m just going to enjoy myself tomorrow. Today I had lot of lip outs and I made some silly mistakes. So there were a lot of ups and downs through the day for me.”

DLF golfer Vani Kapoor, despite a disappointing 74 was tied fifth with England’s Hannah Burke (72). Without being fluent, Kapoor managed well enough through the front nine with two birdies against a bogey.

She then hit a disastrous stretch with four bogeys over the next six holes and though she did manage to pull one back, Kapoor left herself seven shots behind Krauter after the third round.

Stuttgart native Krauter, who is looking for her maiden LET win, said, “It’s different being at the top. I haven’t really been in this position this year at all. I think it will be a challenge tomorrow for sure. But I’m very excited for tomorrow and I’m glad I came to India! It was a

lot of fun playing out there – a lot of crowds. They were all cheering for me as well which was really nice.”

She added, “I think my ball striking was good again today, the same as the last couple of days. Nothing has really changed, didn’t make that many putts, but it was still really steady which is good on this golf course. I’m really happy with my round.”

Of her round, Kjellker said afterwards, “It was an awful start. I was two over after three holes and it could have been three over after three holes. I don’t know what happened there. Maybe it was some nerves and some pressure got to me.

“But then I managed to calm down and had some good yardages which I took advantage of. I had lots of birdies today which was needed for sure. Madelene Stavnar is one of my closest friends on Tour and I feel we’re a great team out there helping each other on the golf course. She’s definitely my little comfort blanket and I love playing with her.”

Amateur Avani Prashanth ground out a 72 that included five birdies against three bogeys and a double to hold a share of seventh place while Gaurika Bishnoi had five birdies against five bogeys and a double for a 74 that pushed her down to shared 12th place.

Nishtha Madan, who also plays on the Epson Tour in the US shot 68, the best among Indians on the third day, and was T19 at 1-over for 54 holes, as was amateur Vidhatri Urs (73). Ridhima Dilawari (73) was 2-over and tied 25th while Khushi Khanijau, Amandeep Drall and Neha Tripathi were further behind.

Stavnar, who opened the week with a 66, said, “Me and Sara both started with a double. It was probably the worst start you can have but then we both made a lot of birdies after that which was really nice.

“She’s probably one of my best friends on Tour. We’re staying together this week as well so clearly just can’t get enough of each other! It will be fun playing together again tomorrow.”