A group of Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour players with Hero MotoCorp chairman Dr Pawan Munjal at the Delhi Golf Club recently. Image courtesy WGAI.
By Rahul Banerji
Vidhatri Urs, who has been on a hot streak, will seek to extend her run as the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour’s leg 12 tees off at the DLF Golf and Country Club.
The Mysore rookie has won three times in her five starts. After being third and tied third in her first two starts as a pro, Vidhatri has now won the ninth, 10th and 11th legs.
Some of the victories have been by big margins, making her a favourite once again at DLF, the WGAI said..
Hitaashee Bakshi, a double winner this season and Hero Order of Merit leader, will be Vidhatri’s main rival, as in the truncated 11th leg.
The Delhi Golf Club event was cut to 36 holes with the last two rounds of nine holes each because of inclement weather.
Other top names in the field include Amandeep Drall, who is preparing herself for the Hero Women’s Indian Open next month.
Top result
In 2022 Amandeep had her best Ladies European Tour result with a runner-up finish at the event. It was also at the DLF Golf and Country Club, so she will look to feed off those good memories.
Also in the field are 2023 Merit topper Sneha Singh, LET regular Vani Kapoor, Gaurika Bishnoi, who also has a top 10 finish at the Women’s Indian Open, besides Neha Tripathi and Shweta Mansingh.
A bunch of promising amateurs are also in the fray led by Mannat Brar, semi-finalist at the R&A Junior Girls, and Keerthana Rajeev, who has represented India at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific.
Hitaashee held onto her lead on the Hero Order of Merit after the DGC leg, but the star has been Vidhatri, who is the most successful player this season.
Vidhatri, who has played only five of the 11 legs is seventh in the rankings while Hitaashee has played 10 off the 11 legs so far.
Hitaashee (Rs, 11,99,500), Sneha Singh (two wins, Rs. 10,41,500) and Amandeep Drall (one win, Rs. 10,08640) have all crossed the million-rupee mark in prize money.
Surprise visit
The players in the DGC field received a surprise visit from Hero MotoCorp chairman Dr Pawan Munjal, Chairman Hero MotoCorp, a keen golfer and a major supporter of the game.
Seven players, including amateur Nishna Patel have won titles so far with Hitaashee and Sneha doing so twice.
Anvitha Narender, Amandeep Drall and Gaurika Bishnoi are the other winners.
The Tour, which began about 15 years ago with four players, now regularly features fields of 45-50 players, including amateurs, many of whom plan to turn professional soon.
After Hitaashee, Sneha and Amandeep on the Order of Merit are Khushi Khanijau, Jasmine Shekar and Gaurika Bishnoi.
Vidhatri is seventh and Seher Atwal eighth with Shweta Mansingh and Rhea Jha rounding off the top 10.
Round 1 tee times
7:30 am: Amandeep Drall, Rhea Purvi S.
7:40 am: Keya K. Badugu (A), Rhea Jha
7:50 am: Vrinda Yadav, Khushi Khanijau, Kashika Misra (A)
8 am: Millie Saroha, Anuradha Chaudhuri (A), Ananyaa Sood (A)
8:10 am: Kriti Chowhan, Yaalisai Verma, Lavanya Gupta (A)
8:25 am: Mannat Brar (A), Yashita Raghav, Chitrangada Singh
8:35 am: Gourabi Bhowmick, Janneya Dasanniee (A), Anahita Singh
8:45 am: Hitaashee Bakshi, Vidhatri Urs, Gaurika Bishnoi
8:55 am: Ravjot K. Dosanjh, Vani Kapoor, Geetika Ahuja
9:05 am: Ishvari Prasanna, Jahaanvie Walia, Astha Madan
9:20 am: Sneha Singh, Karishma Govind, Anvitha Narender
9:30 am: Shagun Narain, Agrima Manral, Ananya Garg
9:40 am: Sachika Singh, Gauri Karhade, Oviya Reddi
9:50 am: Riya Yadav, Shweta Mansingh, Anvvi Dahhiya (A)
10 am: Neha Tripathi, Snigdha Goswami, Keerthana Rajeev (A)
Also read: Vidhatri makes it a three-peat with title at DGC leg of Hero WPGT
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