07 June 2019: Gursimar Badwal had a four-stroke cushion into the final round, but it did not really matter in the end when the chips were counted. Gaurika Bishnoi saved her last to the very end as she snatched a three-stroke victory over an increasingly impressive Pranavi Urs. Bishnoi shot a brilliant 69 on Friday to close out the week at 8-under 208. Pranavi, still an amateur, finished with a day’s best of 66 to secure second place.
Amandeep Drall stayed under par for the third straight day, just as Gaurika, to finish in a tie for third with Tvesa Malik and overnight leader Badwal. Tvesa made a fine 68 on Friday while Drall shot 70.
A forceful finish – birdies at the 14th, 16th and 18th – and a steady hand in the final round helped Gaurika score another memorable victory as she layers an already impressive career on the WGAI Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour. The win helped her move to the top of the order of merit as well, with two victories in six starts and an income of Rs. 612,800 moving ahead of Neha Tripathi (Rs. 556,800).
Pranavi betrayed her young age with another massive performance. The teenaged amateur shot four birdies in the final five holes to record a runner-up finish. After starting the week with a disappointing 76, Pranavi took her game up several notches to record her best finish with a 69 and 66 in the next two rounds.
Unfortunately, Gursimar had the poorest day of the week at the very end when she needed just a steady finish to secure a seemingly easy victory. After starting the day with a bogey at the first hole, a conscious Gursimar kept the boat steady with a clean effort through the 13th hole. A birdie at the 12th also meant that she was even for the day.
But it all unravelled at the 14th, a 545 yard par-5. Gursimar dissolved into a triple bogey eight and even though she recovered to post four straight pars, it was just too little to address the damage. In the end, she signed on a 75 that dropped her to 4-under 212 and a tie for third.
Ridhima Dilawari shot a good round too as she took the sixth place with a 68 in the final round, three strokes behind the three women ahead of her in T3.
Amateur Asmitha Sathish capped off a solid week with an even 72 to secure a tie for eighth with Ananya Datar at 218. Astha Madan finished one step ahead of the duo with a second straight score of 72, alone in seventh place.
Neha Tripathi and Millie Saroha rounded off the top ten at three-over 219.
