Report by Anand Datla
September 7, 2014: India’s Vani Kapoor capped a memorable week in Antalya with a steady composed 72 in the final round. Her round, one under for the second straight day, helped the golfer finish third in the Mineks & Regnum Ladies Classic, a LetAccess Series event in Turkey. It was a terrific recovery for the Indian lady, who started with a patchy two over 75 in the first round on Friday. Emma Westin won the honours with a second straight 71 to finish at 4-under 215 and claim the title. Lina Boquist finished second after a day best 70 helped her roll up to 2-under 219 through the three rounds.
Vani began with an even par at the first hole, a par-5 at the National Golf Club. A birdie at the par-3 second hole and another at the par-4 thirteenth set up the Indian for a healthy return. An untimely bogey at the par-3 16th threatened to derail a good round, but Vani regained her composure to finish the round with two successive pars for an even par 219 to place third in the event.
Overnight leader Caroline Rominger suffered an ignominious slide, scoring an ungainly 80 to be forced down into a three way tie for fifth. The Swiss finished at four-over 223, with Charlotte Wild and Sanna Nuutinen. Wild signed a 74 to gain seven places, but Nuutinen shot a 76 and lost two spots from her overnight position of third.
Swedish golfer, Westin secured control of the lead by shooting three birdies on the front nine, including consecutive beauties on the fourth and fifth as she climbed up from her overnight position of second on the leader board. Westin suffered a pair of bogeys on the return stretch, but a birdie at the par-5 fifteenth compensated some of the damage as she retained a two shot lead over Boquist.
Boquist, a compatriot to Westin, did most of her bidding on the outward nine. She made three birdies in the first four holes to sound the bugle to her rivals for glory on a mild Sunday in Turkey. But after a bogey at the seventh and a birdie at the eighth were her last real nudges at the course, as she settled into a somber rhythm to produce ten straight par efforts to end the day in second.
But for Indian fans, it was all about Vani, who has given much joy this week with her controlled efforts through the second and third rounds.
