Kolkata, 4th February 2015: Helped by a late flurry of birdies, Bengaluru golfer Sharmila Nicollet grabbed an early lead with a first round score of par 70 in the 4th Leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour. Trailing Sharmila by one stroke is Pune’s Shweta Galande. The INR 6,00,000 event is being played at Tollygunge Club, Kolkata and will culminate on 6th February.
Sharmila Nicollet had an indifferent start as she played a birdie-less front nine with four bogies on the 1st, 4th, 7th and 8th holes. However, the Hero Motocorp sponsored golfer made a scintillating comeback with five consecutive birdies on the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th holes. Her lone blemish in the back nine came on the 17th hole where she dropped a shot. Shweta on the other hand made a cautious start with two birdies on the 2nd and 5th holes and a lone bogey on the 9th hole in her front nine. However, she struggled a bit in the latter half and carded four bogies on the 11th, 12th, 14th and 15th holes. She also carded two birdies on the 10th and 16th holes to finish the day with a score of 1 over 71.
Kiran Matharu’s day was a mixed bag and she is placed third with a score of 2 over 72 after the day’s play. She carded three birdies on the 4th, 7th and 13th holes along with five bogies on the 3rd, 9th, 12th, 14th and 15thholes. Local girl Neha Tripathi and Delhi’s Gauri Monga are tied fourth with identical scores of 3 over 73. Neha Tripathi carded four bogies on the 3rd, 4th, 13th and 17th holes with a lone birdie on the 2nd hole. Gauri’s card included two bogies on the 1st and 3rd holes with a birdie on the 7th hole. She also holed a double bogey on the 12th hole to finish ahead of Hero Order of Merit leader Vani Kapoor.
Delhi’s Vani Kapoor had an off day on the field and is placed sixth with a score of 4 over 74. She played a birdie-less round which included four bogies on the 4th, 5th, 7th and 11th holes. Veteran Smriti Mehra and Panchkula golfer Amandeep Drall are tied seventh with identical scores of 5 over 75 after the first round.
