Notwithstanding a lackluster third round, Avani is still tied for second.

On the third day of the Australian Masters of Amateurs tournament at Southern Golf Club here on Thursday, India's Avani Prashanth persevered through a challenging round three to hold onto shared second place.Avani was four shots behind the new leader, Lion Higo from the Gold Coast, Australia, who scored two rounds at 3-under 143, tied for second place with two other players.Higo, a US College golfer at Pepperdine University, blasted 77 on this particular day, but he still managed to finish second behind Rianne Malixi of the Philippines, who shot 1-over 74. Avani, rated 50th in the world and one of the leading candidates for the title, went 71-71-70.Malixi moved up to 3-under 143, tying for second place.

Nika Ito of Japan, the leader of the first two rounds, finished third in the tie for second place after collapsing to 5-over 78.Her first two days of treatment were rounds 68–70. Avani struggled early, making bogeys on the first and third holes, and she was 3-over after six holes, needing a quick charge to try and take the lead.When a fourth bogey appeared on the 12th, things got worse.The Indian amateur star performed admirably overall, but despite some strong performance during the first two days, he was unable to maintain the pace.She still has another opportunity to further her worldwide accolades.

Heena Kang had a difficult time making her international debut as she finished with a final round score of 83 and was not selected for the three-day cut. The fourth and final round will be played by the top-33 and ties. Sandeep Yadav (84-74-75) and Rohit Narwal (73 after 76-70) were the guys who failed to make the cut.In the men's division, the Top-45 and ties will compete in the championship round. In the men's division, Oliver of Scotland shared the lead at 11-under 205 with Mukherjee (69-70-66) and Max Moring (67-67-71). Zackary Swanwick of New Zealand (67-67-72) was in third place at 10-under 206.