By Rahul Banerji
Vani Kapoor turned on the heat on the back nine with five birdies over the last seven holes for a three-shot lead in the first round of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour event in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
On 5-under par 67 at the par-72 Boulder Hills Golf & Country Club, Vani showed a long-overdue return to form.
Vani, who has been searching for a win for quite some time, was level par for the front nine with one bogey and one dropped shot.
She then found her range to open a comfortable lead over the chasing pack.
Seher Atwal too had a good back nine with three birdies after being one-over for the front nine and was sole second.
Two others, Saaniya Sharma and Pranavi Urs carded 1-under 71s for tied third, while Amandeep Drall and last week’s winner Jahanvi Bakshi shot par 72s for shared fifth place.
Asmitha Sathish with three closing birdies had a 73 and was seventh, while Neha Tripathi returned a 74 for T8 with Ridhima Dilawari.
Ridhima notched up two birdies in the first three holes but struggled thereafter.
Tight grouping
Oviya Reddi, Khushi Khanijau, Hitaashee Bakshi and Shweta Mansingh were all tied for tenth with 75s each.
Vani has of late begun to show the form that made her one of the most consistent golfers on the domestic circuit.
In between, she seemed to have lost her way but is now making up with good performances. Playing steady golf, she navigated the front nine carefully and caught fire on the back nine.
Seher, too, was rather quiet on the front stretch before picking three up birdies against no bogeys on the return journey.
With four players in sub-par territory, it should be a close fight over the next two days.
Round 2 tee times and scores
8:30 am: Ishvari Prasanna 85; Riya Yadav 84; Durga Nittur 84
8:40 am: Anisha Agarwalla 80; Trimann Saluja 80; Disha Kavery 80
8:50 am: Sonam Chugh 80; Lakhmehar Pardesi 79; Jyotsana Singh 77
9 am: Rhea P Saravanan 77; Rhea Jha 76; Shweta Mansingh 75
9:15 am: Hitaashee Bakshi 75; Khushi Khanijau 75; Oviya Reddi 75
9:25 am: Ridhima Dilawari 74; Neha Tripathi 74; Asmitha Sathish 73
9:35 am: Jahanvi Bakshi 72; Amandeep Drall 72; Pranavi Urs 71
9:45 am: Saaniya Sharma 71; Seher Atwal 70; Vani Kapoor 67
Also read: Jahanvi brings in big win at Hyderabad leg of Hero WPGT
Discover more from Tee Time Tales
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.