Rebecca Coakley and Martina Gillen of Team Ireland both stayed inside the cut at the Hero Honda Women’s Indian Open with Hazel Kavanagh and Tara Delaney dropping down the leader board at the DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurgaon to miss out on the weekend’s play.
Martina Gillen signed for a round of 77 to finish two shots inside the cut on 6 over par with Rebecca Coakley carding a level par round to finish 4 over in a share of 36th place.
Hazel Kavanagh struggled on the front nine making the turn in 45 after five bogeys and two double bogeys ending the round on 84 for a 15 over par total.
Tara Delaney signed for an 81 to finish on 16 over par.
At the top of the leader board South African Tandi Cuningham shot a four-under-par 68 to take a one stroke lead into the final round after the 24-year-old from Johannesburg finished on four-under-par.
Italy's Veronica Zorzi, who had a 72 and Cassandra Kirkland of France, who shot 67, are tied for second spot a stroke behind.
Cuningham said that patience was crucial. "I did not want to experiment other things on the course and went for tidy play. My patience paid off," said the second year Ladies European Tour player.
“My shots were going well and for the final round tomorrow, it will be a do-or-die mission for me: aggression,” she said. “I'm going to charge: that's my gamble.”
It was a disappointing second day for the first round leader Laura Davies, who carded a 78 and remains three shots off the pace heading into Saturday’s final round.
European money leader Lee-Anne Pace also had a relatively poor round by her usually lofty standards signing for a 77 which left her at two-over-par and six-shots behind her compatriot, Cuningham.
Kirkland shot the day's lowest score of 67 with six birdies against a bogey and her best finish this year was a tie for 12th at the Aberdeen Ladies Scottish Open.
Zorzi, from Verona, is targeting her third victory on the Ladies European Tour after back-to-back French Open wins in 2005 and 2006. Her best finish this season was a tie for fourth at the Tenerife Ladies Open in July.
Davies was not too disappointed and said: "Well I did not play badly but my putts were not falling though I was hitting well. There was nothing wrong with my mood or my mental strength - just that things did not fall well in place."
Thailand’s Nontaya Srisawang and Wales’ Becky Morgan are in joint fourth on two-under and well within striking distance.
