WGAI: Gurbani Singh leads 9th leg

Report by Anand Datla

June 23, 2015: A new generation of golfers are redefining the game, bringing a fresh wave of energy to women’s golf in India. Gurbani Singh and Amandeep Drall showcased exactly this with a brilliant performance in the opening round of the ninth leg on the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour. Singh shot 68 while Drall was right behind with an equally impressive 69. Another young golfer, Gauri Monga is lying third after making 71. They were the only three women to break par at the Royal Springs Golf Course in Srinagar.

Shweta Galande made three bogeys on the front nine, but recovered well on the return stretch, making two birdies to sign out at 2-over 74 through the first 18 holes of the tournament.

Gurbani made a bogey six on both the first and ninth holes, but those were the only blemishes on her card. She made four birdies on the front nine and added two more at the 11th and 13th holes to account for a fine 68.

Drall took 35 and 34 shots on her march around the course, making five birdies and two bogeys in her score of 69. Monga made consecutive birdies just before making the turn – posting three birdies and two bogeys in her 71.

Neha Tripathi suffered six bogeys – three on either side as she finished the first day at three over 75 in the company of Gursimar Badwal and Vani Kapoor. Badwal was one under through nine holes, but a double bogey at the tenth and three bogeys over the next five holes damaged her scorecard.

Vani was in good shape for much of the day, but small margins hurt her badly. After getting the past front nine without any damage, Kapoor broke a sequence of ten straight pars, with a bogey at the eleventh hole.

Another bogey at the 12th hole and a third at the 16th meant that she needed 39 shots on her way to the elegant clubhouse. A deficit of seven shots already means that Vani and her companions will have some serious work to do on Wednesday to get back into the reckoning.

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