Hitaashee leads at Golfshire leg with Amandeep, Neha in chase

Day one leader Hitaashee Bakshi in action at the Prestige Golfshire course near Bangalore on Wednesday. Image courtesy WGAI.

By Rahul Banerji

Hero Order of Merit leader Hitaashee Bakshi returned a 2 under par 70 to lead after the first round of the Women’s Pro Golf Tour leg at Prestige Golfshire near Bangalore on Wednesday.

Hitaashee, who has been dividing time between international and domestic events, had six birdies, but also gave away a double bogey and two late bogeys in the round to hold a two-shot lead.

Experienced stars Amandeep Drall (72) and Neha Tripathi (73) were her closest pursuers, the WGAI said.

Amateur Mannat Brar, Khushi Khanijau, Anisha Agarwalla and Jasmine Shekar were tied for fourth on 2 over 74 each.

Ninth leg winner at Clover Greens, Vidhatri Urs (75), shared the eighth spot with Kriti Chowhan, while Rhea Jha, Astha Madan and amateur Keerthana Rajeev were at T10 with 4 over 76s.

Hitaashee had five birdies on the front nine and one more on the 18^th.

Quick start

The DLF golfer opened with a birdie and added three more by hole 7. She dropped a double on eight and got one back on nine to turn in 3 under 33.

On the back nine, she bogeyed 16 and 17 but birdied the closing hole.

Amandeep, winless this year, has not been able to find consistent form. She had three birdies against three bogeys, while Neha, making a return from a back injury, had six birdies to show signs of a good recovery.

However, she also dropped two doubles and three bogeys to card a 1 over 73.

Last year’s Order of Merit winner Sneha Singh was tied for 13^th place with Gauri Karhade, Agrima Manral and Ananya Garg at 77.

Scores and round 2 tee times

11 am: Rhea Purvi S. 87, Geetika Ahuja 86

11:10 am: Snigdha Goswami 86, Anahita Singh 85, Anvitha Narender 84

11:20 am: Yashita Raghav 83, Durga Nittur 83, Jahaanvie Walia 82

11:30 am: Vrinda Yadav 82, Yaalisai Verma 81, Shweta Mansingh 81

11:40 am: Gourabi Bhowmick 81, Anuradha Chaudhuri (A) 80, Seher Atwal 80

11:55 am: Karishma Govind 80, Chitrangada Singh 80, Kaya Daluwatte (A) 78

12:05 pm: Trimann Saluja 78, Saanvi Somu (A) 78, Ananya Garg 77

12:15 pm: Agrima Manral 77, Gauri Karhade 77, Sneha Singh 77

12:25 pm: Keerthana Rajeev (A) 76, Astha Madan 76, Rhea Jha 76

12:40 pm: Kriti Chowhan 75, Vidhatri Urs 75, Jasmine Shekar 74

12:50 pm: Mannat Brar (A) 74, Anisha Agarwalla 74, Khushi Khanijau 74

1 pm: Neha Tripathi 73, Amandeep Drall 72, Hitaashee Bakshi 70

Also read: Vidhatri seeks back-to-back wins on Hero Women’s Pro Tour