Sneha Singh retains her lead as Noida GC nips at field

By Rahul Banerji

Hyderabad amateur Sneha Singh maintained a one-shot lead over the field with a level par 72 in round 2 of the seventh leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at Noida Golf Course on Thursday.

The 16-year-old had a roller-coaster front nine with birdies on the first, fourth and eighth holes and dropped shots on second and sixth, as she turned in one-under 35.

On the back nine, the nwomen’s and junior national champion missed a couple of birdie chances, dropped a shot on the par-4 12^th and closed with six pars for one of the day’s steadiest rounds.

One shot behind was Siddhi Kapoor, whose sole win on the Hero WPGT came in 2016, her rookie year, when she won the 14^th leg at the Delhi Golf Club.

Siddhi rode on her fine start which saw her get to 3-under in the first six holes before she dropped shots on the seventh and 13^th.

Siddhi steadied herself over the remaining holes for the day’s only under par card of one-under 71.

Close battle

While Sneha stands at 1-under 143, Siddhi is level par 144. They are three shots clear of the rest of the field.

Amandeep Drall had a 2-over 74, while overnight second placed Vani Kapoor suffered a disappointing finish with bogeys on her last two holes. 

Her round of 75 saw her fall into a tie for third with Amandeep on 3-over 147s.

Chandigarh-based amateur Hunar Mittal, whose first round 73 had her in tied third place after the first day, was fifth after a round of 76 on the day.

Seher Atwal (74) and Trimann Saluja (78) were tied sixth on 151s, while Lakhmehar Pardesi (77) and Saaniya Sharma (78) were tied ninth.

Five players, Gursimar Badwal (75), Ridhima Dilawari (75), amateur Avani Prashanth (76), Afshan Fatima (76) and Diksha Dagar (77) were all tied 10^th on 153s.

If Sneha holds on on Friday, it will be her second such result on the Hero WPG Tour as an amateur after her home win last year.

The Hyderabad-based Sneha is trained by her father, Sanjay Singh, a former pro.

The final round will see Sneha go out with Siddhi and Amandeep in the final group, while Vani plays with amateur Hunar Mittal and Seher Atwal in the second to last group.

The high scores overall were indicative of match rust as the women’s tour is playing its first event in close to nine months.

Groups, tee times and scores for final round

9:15 am: Shagun Narain 167; Jyotsana Singh 166;

9:25 an: Neha Tripathi 161; Anisha Agarwalla 158; Nayanika Sanga (A) 157;

9:35 am: Anousha Tripathi 156; Kriti Chowhan (A) 155; Geetika Ahuja 155;

9:45 am: Rhea Jha 154; Diksha Dagar 153; Afshan Fatima 153;

9:55 am: Avani Prashanth (A) 153; Ridhima Dilawari 153; Gursimar Badwal 153;

10:05 am: Saaniya Sharma 152; Lakhmehar Pardesi 152; Trimann Saluja 151;

10:15 am: Seher Atwal 151; Hunar Mittal (A) 149; Vani Kapoor 147;

10:25 am: Amandeep Drall 147; Siddhi Kapoor 144; Sneha Singh (A) 143

Also read: Women pros back in action at NGC after nine-month break