Vani makes fast start to her season with three-shot lead at Tolly

DLF’s Vani Kapoor showed little signs of rust on her first day back on the Hero WPGT with a brisk start in Kolkata on Wednesday. Image courtesy WGAI.

By Rahul Banerji

Vani Kapoor returned to the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour after a long break but did not take long to make an impact with the day one lead in the second leg of the season in Kolkata on Wednesday.

The DLF golfer may not have begun the way she would have wanted but still brough in the day’s best card of 2 under par 68 for a three-stroke at Tollygunge Club, the WGAI said.

Vani, whose last win at home came in the 12^th leg last year on her home DLF Golf and Country Club course, began with a bogey but picked three shots thereafter to tally a 68.

It put her three ahead of 2023 HPWGT Order of Merit topper Sneha Singh (level par 71), while Ravjot K. Dosanjh, looking for her maiden win, was third with a 1 over 72.

Vani, who is hoping to find form and her way back into the Ladies European Tour, picked birdies on holes four, 12 and 16, while Hyderabad’s Sneha, who was T5 at Jamshedpur last week parred the first nine holes but recorded two birdies against three bogeys on the back nine.

Late blip

Ravjot had two birdies against two bogeys on the front nine to turn in level par. On the second nine, she again had two birdies and two bogeys but also dropped a late double to fall to 2-over at the end of the round.

Khushi Khanijau, (73) was sole fourth, while five players including amateurs Anaahat Bindra, Heena Kang and pros, Anvitha Narender, Anahita Singh and Jasmine Shekar were fifth on 3 over 74s.

Kriti Chowhan and Gourabi Bhowmick with 75 were tied 10^th.

It was not the best of days for some other big names as Seher Atwal and Ridhima Dilawari with 77 each were T14, while last week’s winner, Rhea Purvi Sarvanan (78) was T-18.

Amandeep Drall and Vidhatri Urs with 79 each were shared 23rd and Neha Tripathi (81) was 30^th.

Scores and round 2 tee times 

8 am: Anaggha Venkatesh 83, Nayanika Sanga 82

8:10 am: Neha Tripathi 81, Jahaanvie Walia 80, Geetika Ahuja 80

8:20 am: Yaalisai Verma 80, Ananya Garg 79, Anisha Agarwalla 79

8:30 am: Amandeep Drall 79, Vidhatri Urs 79, Snigdha Goswami 78

8:45 am: Agrima Manral 78, Chitrangada Singh 78, Karishma Govind 78

8:55 am: Rhea Purvi Saravanan 78, Ridhima Dilawari 77, Rhea Jha 77

9:05 am: Seher Atwal 77, Durga Nittur 77, Shweta Mansingh 76

9:15 am: Lavanya Jadon 76, Gourabi Bhowmick 75, Kriti Chowhan 75

9:30 am: Jasmine Shekar 74, Heena Kang (A) 74, Anahita Singh 74

9:40 am: Anvitha Narender 74, Anaahat Bindra (A) 74, Khushi Khanijau 73

9:50 am: Ravjot K. Dosanjh 72, Sneha Singh 71, Vani Kapoor 68

Also read: Vani, Vidhatri return to action in second leg of Hero WPGT