Anand Datla
March 22, 2017: Vani Kapoor was in familiar territory at the end of the first round of the sixth leg on the WGAI Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour. The three time Order of Merit winner raced in front with a fluent 70 at the Poona Club Golf Course. Amandeep Drall, Gaurika Bishnoi and Gursimar Badwal were all tied in second place with a score of 75.
Vani fueled her one under score with three birdies – two on the front nine and one on the return stretch. She took 35 strokes on either side of the par-71 course in Pune.
Sharmila Nicollet fired a sensational eagle at the 553 yard, par-5 18th hole, but a round riddled with lost strokes left her signing on a 77. Sharmila was an even 36 on the back nine, but the damage was done much earlier in the round. A pair of double bogeys and bogeys on her way out hurt her card.
Amandeep Drall put in a disciplined performance on the front nine, making the turn in an even 35 strokes. But she made bogeys on both the par 5 holes as well as a double at the par-4 17th to settle for a 75.
Gaurika conceded two strokes on each side of her march around the course to account for her 75.
Gursimar suffered on the outward stretch as she dipped to four over by the end of the ninth hole. But she played with greater discipline from there to reach the clubhouse without any further damage.
Teenage prospect Siddhi Kapoor was tied in sixth place with Trisha Sunil and Shweta Galande. Meher Atwal made a 79 to end the first round in ninth place.
Saaniya Sharma (80), Sonam Chugh (82), Ayesha Kapur (84) and Afshan Fatima (86) left themselves a mountain to climb in the final two rounds, after a bruising first round effort.
Komal Chaudhary had her card littered with bogeys as she was forced to retire on the +16 rule, with a first round score of 89.
