Smriti Mehra 7th in Tour School PQ

Report by Anand Datla

November 5, 2014: Smriti Mehra shot a 74 in the first round of the 2015 Tour School Pre Qualifying C – Asia, lying five shots behind the leaders Thanuttra Boonraksasat and Kyle Roig. The Thai and American golfers earned a one shot lead over amateur Wei Wei Zhang after they made 69 in the first round.

Smriti went around the Mission Hills Hainan´s Vintage Course with the help of three birdies, but also gave away five bogeys on a day of mixed fortunes for Indian golfers.

Ankita Tiwana and Neha Tripathi, the other two Indians, were scouring the bottom after making 79 and 80 respectively on Wednesday. Ankita made seven bogeys in her round while Neha surrendered six shots in her march around the course in Haiku.

The top seven players and ties will qualify for the Final Qualifying School. Smriti gave away three shots in her first five holes, eventually making the turn in two over after taking forty shots to get through the first nine holes. The Indian golfer was far more assured on the return march, making two birdies and two bogeys in an even par effort that took 34 shots.

Thanuttra also gave away bogeys on two of the first three holes, but made five birdies from there to post the best effort of the day along with Kyle. The American too had five birdies and two bogeys on her card as they tied for the lead.