Ladies pro event prize pot hits the million-rupee mark

By Rahul Banerji

For the first time, a Rs 10 lakh prize fund has been put up for a professional event on the Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI) tour, which resumes after a mid-year break at the Clover Greens in Hosur near Bangalore.

A bigger than usual field has entered for this, the seventh leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour with 26 professionals in the fray alongside three amateurs making it the largest assembled at an event on the fledgling domestic Tour.

Barring Aditi Ashok, Diksha Dagar, Vani Kapoor and Sharmila Nicollet, all other leading Indian women pros are playing the event. While Aditi is busy on the LPGA, Sharmila is on the Symetra Tour in the US. Diksha is in Europe getting ready for her maiden appearance in a major, as she will be playing the Evian and Women’s British Open.

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This is the first of four events scheduled in southern India this season and the next leg is also scheduled in Bangalore.

The past six legs have seen five winners, with only Ridhima Dilawari winning twice in three starts. Neha Tripathi, Gaurika Bishnoi, Gursimar Badwal and Tvesa Malik have one win each.

Neha, who currently leads the WGAI Hero Order of Merit, holds a Rs.31,000 lead over Gaurika Bishnoi who has played five events, as compared to Neha’s six starts.

Gaurika, in turn, is Rs.40,000 ahead of Gursimar Badwal, who has also played all six events so far. Amandeep Drall, Ridhima Dilawari who has played just three and Siddhi Kapoor are fourth, fifth and sixth on the merit list.

With 29 in the fray including amateurs Pranavi Urs, Sneha Sharan and Asmitha Sathish, there will be 10 flights with the first one comprising Anisha Padukone and rookie Tanirika Singh playing in a two-ball.

The event marks a high for the association and its president Kavita Singh and secretary general Champika Sayal. The WGAI has also held the Hero Women’s Indian Open for 12 years in a row.

This season, Diksha Dagar won on the LET with a maiden title in the Women’s South African Open while Aditi has earlier won three LET titles in 2016 and 2017.

The groupings:

Anisha Padukone, Tanirika Singh;

Suchitra Ramesh, Sneha Sharan (A), Komal Chaudhary;

Hita Prakash, Siddhi Kapoor, Sonam Chugh;

Ananya Datar, Neha Tripathi, Gursimar Badwal;

Khushi Khanijau, Mehar Atwal, Pranavi Urs (A);

Millie Saroha, Oviya Reddi, Gaurika Bishnoi;

Asmitha Sathish (A), Jyotsana Singh, Ishvari Prasanna;

Astha Madan, Smriti Mehra, Amandeep Drall;

Neeharika Thangamma, Ridhima Dilawari, Anousha Tripathi;

Gauri Karhade, Tvesa Malik, Ayesha Kapur;

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