Amandeep 2nd as Vani takes lead on opening day in Pune

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 22 

Amandeep Drall carded a four-over 75 to finish in second place, five shots adrift of the opening round leader Vani Kapoor, on the inaugural day of the sixth leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour at the Poona Club Golf Course in Pune today.   

Vani carded the only sub-par round of the day to take the lead.

Panchkula’s Amandeep is bunched Kapurtha’s Gursimar Badwal and Gurugram’s Gaurika Bishnoi with an identical card of 75 at the INR 6,00,000 event, which will culminate on March 24.

Delhi’s Vani played out a front nine of fluctuating fortunes. She carded two birdies on the 4th and 8th holes, but dropped shots on the 5th and 9th. She started the return at level par, playing a more controlled and bogey-free back nine with a solitary birdie on the 10th.

Amandeep, who leads the Order of Merit, had an indifferent start, carding a bogey on the second hole. She was though able to neutralise the damage with a birdie on the 7th on her way out. 

On the return, she could not sustain the momentum and carded a birdie-less round with bogeys on the 12th and 18th and a double on the 17th.

Gursimar would have hoped for a better start, as she carded bogeys on the 1st, 2nd and 5th holes with a double on the 6th. Her lone birdie in the front nine came on the 7th. In her back nine, she carded a birdie and a bogey apiece on the 12th and 13th holes respectively.

Gaurika, meanwhile, carded a birdie on the 5th hole followed by bogeys on the 7th, 8th and 9th on her way out. The return witnessed a similar script, with a birdie on the 15th followed by dropped shots on the 16th, 17th and 18th.

Sharmila Nicollet is placed fifth with a total of six-over 77. She carded a birdie-less front nine with bogeys on the 2nd and 3rd and double bogeys on the 1st and 5th. 

In her back nine, she carded a birdie on the 12th hole followed by bogeys on the 13th, 15th and 16th. However, she managed to recover some of the lost ground with an eagle on the last hole.

Siddhi Kapoor, Trisha Sunil and Shweta Galande are all tied-sixth with identical scores of seven-over 78.

Siddhi carded a birdie on the 6th hole, while dropping shots on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 11th and 17th holes. Trisha’s card on the day included birdies on the 12th and 15th holes, while she dropped shots on the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 9th. She also carded two double bogeys on the 10th and 11th. 

Shweta’s lone birdie of the day came on the 9th hole, while she dropped shots on the 2nd, 3rd, 16th and 18th. Her card also included two double bogeys on the 6th and 17th.

Delhi’s Mehar Atwal took the ninth position with a score of eight-over 79, followed by Chandigarh’s Saaniya Sharma in 10th position with a card of nine-over 80.