Bengaluru: Pune golfer Shweta Galande carded the days lowest total of 1 under 71 to lead the field at the end of the first day’s play of the eighth leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour 2014. The INR 5,00,000 event is being played at Bengaluru’s flagship KGA Golf course from the 9th – 11th of July 2014.
Trailing the Pune golfer by a stroke was Jaipur’s Pallavi Jain at the second position after round one. Hero MotoCorp sponsored local sensation Sharmila Nicollet, along with her fellow city amateur golfers Nikita Arjun and Anisha Padukone and Pune’s Raksha Phadke were tied for the third place with identical scores of 1 over 73 after 18 holes.
Shweta who has failed to capitalize on her first round heroics many times in the past would be keen to break the jinx in this leg. She played a flawless front nine with two birdies on the 1st and 7th holes followed by a near perfect back nine, fumbling just once on the 11th hole with a bogey. She finished her first round with a total of 1 under 71.
Jaipur’s Pallavi Jain played some good golf today as she trailed Shweta by a stroke to be placed at the second position with a level par score after 18 holes. With a patchy front nine which included two bogeys on the 3rd and 7th holes, Pallavi quickly stabilized herself carding two consecutive birdies on the 8th and 9th holes. She played a cautious back nine carding a bogey and a birdie apiece on the 11th and 15th holes respectively.
Hero MotoCorp sponsored Bengaluru golfer Sharmila Nicolett would have been leading the field with Pune’s Shweta Galande had she not faltered on the 18th hole with a double bogey. Sharmila started off impressively on her home turf with three birdies on the 1st, 6th and 7th holes. This was followed by two bogeys on the 9th and 17th holes along with a final double bogey on the 18th hole. Sharmila is tied for the third place with fellow city amateur golfers Nikita Arjun, Anisha Padukone and Pune’s Raksha Phadke with identical scores of 1 over 73 after the first round.
Bengaluru amateur Nikita had an indifferent start carding a bogey on the 3rd hole followed by a double bogey on the 7th hole, balancing her errors with a birdie on the 6th hole to complete her front nine. She raised her game tremendously to finish with an impressive bogey free back nine which included a birdie on the 13th hole. Nikita’s fellow city amateur golfer Anisha Padukone also had a very similar score card at the end of the first day’s play which included a birdie on the 5th hole, a double bogey on the 6th hole and a bogey on the 8th hole in her front nine. Thereafter Anisha played an error free back nine with a lone birdie on the 11th hole.
Pune’s Raksha Phadke was the most impressive amongst the amateurs as she started off with a flawless front nine, with a single birdie on the 6th hole. She however could not keep up with the momentum, faltering in her back nine with two bogeys on the 14th and 17th holes.
Delhi golfers Ankita Tiwana and current Hero Order of Merit leader Vani Kapoor were tied for the 7th place with identical totals of 2 over 74 after the first round. Ankita, who won the 7th leg carded four birdies on the 2nd, 8th, 9th and 10th holes followed by six bogeys on the 5th, 6th, 11th, 13th, 14th and 16th holes. Vani Kapoor would prefer to move past her first round performance at the KGA very soon. Her round consisted of five bogeys on the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 17th and 18th holes. Her only respite in a mediocre round was her three birdies on the 6th, 12th and 14th holes.
Delhi amateur Mehar Atwal finished ninth with a score of 3 over 75 while Chandigarh golfer Saaniya Sharma is placed tenth with a score of 4 over 76 after the first round.
The Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour 2014 comprises a total of fifteen legs spanning across key locations in India.
