By Rahul Banerji
Gursimar Badwal ended a 14-month title drought with a 3-under par 69 to win the sixth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the Classic Golf & Country Club on Friday.
Gursimar, whose last win came in the second leg of the 2019 season in Pune, had opened with a disappointing 7-over 79 and was T-13 after the first day.
She subsequently recovered with rounds of 67 and 69 to total 1-under 215 and emerge winner by two shots over Saaniya Sharma (67) and Vani Kapoor (72).
Vani missed out on her second straight win but she did have the consolation of taking over the lead in the Hero Order of Merit after the erstwhile leader, Amandeep Drall withdrew from the final round.
Big mover
Saaniya Sharma made a big charge, including a birdie-birdie finish for a 5-under 67, climbing from tied-10th to tied second on the final day. For her part, Vani was consistent with rounds of 73, 72 and 72.
Neha Tripathi shot a 71, one of the three sub-par scores of the day for a 2-over 218 total and fourth place.
Overnight co-leader, amateur Asmitha Sathish (74) had two double bogeys that ruined her chances for a run for the title. She also had four birdies and two bogeys for a 74 that left her in fifth place.
Gursimar, who started the day one shot behind leaders Vani and Asmitha, got off to a great start with birdies on the first two holes and another on fourth.
By then Vani had one birdie and one bogey and Asmitha had one bogey, leaving Gursimar as the sole leader on 1-under par.
Steady going
Gursimar had pars over the next four holes before adding a fourth birdie on the 10th. Her sole bogey was on 11th after which she comfortably coasted through with pars on her last seven holes.
Saaniya Sharma played flawless golf on Friday and was the only player to be bogey free. She had five birdies in all and finished on 1-over 217, which became the clubhouse target for the final group.
Vani paid for three early bogeys in her first six holes, though she also had a birdie. From the seventh to 18th she managed to avoid bogeys and also birdied 14th and 16th and reached one-over.
However, Gursimar stayed ahead and cruised to a deserving win.
Pranavi Urs (74) was sixth, while Siddhi Kapoor (74) was seventh and Gaurika Bishnoi (73) was eighth.
Amateur Hunar Mittal, who began with a superb 72 on the first day, and Oviya Reddi (79) rounded off the top ten.
Vani now leads the Hero Order of Merit with Rs.4,91,000 in five starts, Amandeep Drall is second with Rs.4,21,400 and Saaniya with this week’s runner-up finish is third with Rs.4,17,300.
Neha Tripathi (Rs.3,85,650) and Pranavi Urs (Rs.3,72,700) occupy the fourth and fifth places.
Also read: Gursimar out to keep form going in third leg of Hero WPG Tour
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