Anand Datla is a management consultant with a passion for sport

Women’s Golf In India: Nine interesting facts after nine events this season

At the halfway stage of the WGAI tour, we take a look at the performances so far

1884
Kiran Matharu leads after round one of the third leg on the Hero Honda Women's Tour. An even par first round was enough to give the golfer the lead at the RCGC in Kolkata.

We are two weeks away from the tenth leg of the 18 event Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour. At the halfway stage of the WGAI tour, we take a look at the performances so far in what has been a stellar season of golf.

  • Four women have titles so far this season. Vani Kapoor with five titles is front and centre while Neha Tripathi has won two titles. Gursimar Badwal and Amandeep Drall are the other two ladies to have won titles in 2016.
  • Vani Kapoor has won five of the six events she has entered. The Delhi golfer has been in dominant form this season.

    Vani Kapoor at Eagleton
    Vani Kapoor at Eagleton, her mom looks on from extreme left
  • There is less than two lakhs separating the top five golfers – underlining the growing consistency of the top women on the HWPGT.
  • Only six of the seventeen women have played all nine events, highlighting an area that needs attention. Despite consistent effort from the WGAI, participation has been relatively thin on the tour.
  • Vani Kapoor leads the stroke average as the only woman with a score below 72 (71.67). Amandeep Drall is averaging 73.72 with Neha rounding out the top three at 75.19
  • Neha Tripathi leads the women on the birdie count. The consistent young woman has fired 67 birdies this season through nine events. Gursimar is in second with 61 birdies. Vani is lying third with 57, but she has only played six events to accumulate them.
  • One particular number – under par rounds, can explain the distance between Vani and the rest. She has managed to break par in eleven rounds this season, while Kiran Matharu and Neha have done so just five times.
  • The improving quality of the tour is evident from the fact that there have already been five winning scores below par. While we are only through nine events so far, the tour witnessed just seven winning scores under par last season from eighteen events.
  • Kiran Matharu has been playing bridesmaid the most, finishing runner-up on three occasions this season. Perhaps a victory is round the corner for this British Indian.

Join the Conversation