Amateurs Sneha, Hunar grab spotlight on opening day at NGC

WGAI NGC
A composite image of day 1 leader, Hyderabad amateur Sneha Singh (left) and second placed Vani Kapoor at the Noida Golf Course on Wednesday. Image courtesy WGAI.

By Rahul Banerji

National women’s champion Sneha Singh brought in the day’s only sub-par card to lead the seventh leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour event at Noida Golf Course on Wednesday.

Faldo Series India winner Hunar Mittal, like Sneha playing as an amateur, was in a share of third place alongside two others on 1-over par 73 with Order of Merit leader Vani Kapoor in sole second on level par 72.

Hyderabad teenager Sneha, who holds both the national senior and junior women’s titles, swapped two bogeys for one birdie on her outbound nine at the NGC.

On her way back to the clubhouse, Sneha picked up shots on both par-5s, the 14th and 17th holes for a day’s total of 1-under 71 and a one-shot lead over the field.

Among the more established stars, Diksha Dagar, returning after a long season in Europe, came back to shoot 4-over 76 to be ninth, while Ridhima Dilawari (78) was further behind in T-14.

Rising star

Sneha, 15, is the daughter of former pro Sanjay Singh, who is also her coach. She won the 11th leg of the 2019 season at the Hyderabad Golf Club.

Having won on the pro circuit as an amateur, she was not overawed by the occasion. 

Sneha’s first birdie came as late as the ninth hole, after bogeys on the par-3 fifth and par-5 eighth, but after that she made no more errors and had three birdies.

Sneha, a student of Delhi Public School, Khajaguda in Hyderabad fancies a pro career and is keen to play on the Ladies European Tour and LPGA in the United States.

In December, Sneha beat back Hitashee Bakshi over 36 intense match-play holes of the 103rd All India Ladies Amateur Championship crown at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club.

It added to the junior championship she had won earlier in the month for a rare nationals double.

Rookies soon

Incidentally, Hitashee and her sister Jahnavi are slated to join the professional ranks in the tour’s eighth leg at the DLF Golf and Country Club next week.

On Wednesday at NGC, Vani kept the flag flying for the pros with three birdies against as many bogeys in her level par round.

Siddhi Kapoor and Trimann Saluja shared third place alongside Chandigarh teenager Hunar Mittal on 73 with Saaniya Sharma and Amandeep Drall on 2-over par 74.

Amandeep is one of five winners this year on the Hero WPGT.

Ladies European Tour regular Diksha Dagar had a day off, dropping seven shots against three birdies to sit ninth in the field of 23 on 4-over 76.

The WPGT is on the seventh leg of its covid-interrupted season and the onging event at NGC will be followed by tournaments at the DLF and Classic courses to end the season.

Round 2 groups, scores and tee times

9.15 am: Shagun Narain 83, Jyotsana Singh 82

9.25 am: Rhea Jha 79, Neha Tripathi 79, Anisha Agarwalla 79

9.35 am: Gursimar Badwal 78, Geetika Ahuja 78, Anousha Tripathi 78

9.45 am: Nayanika Sanga (A) 78, Rishima Dilawari 78, Seher Atwal 77

9.55 am: Avni Prashanth (A) 77, Afshan Fatima 77, Kriti Chowhan (A) 77

10.05 am: Diksha Dagar 76, Lakhmehar Pardesi 75, Amandeep Drall 74

10.15 am: Saaniya Sharma 74, Trimann Saluja 73, Siddhi Kapoor 73

10.25 am: Hunar Mittal (A) 73, Vani Kapoor 72, Sneha Singh (A) 71

Also read: Telengana teen Sneha Singh does the nationals double