New Delhi: Millie Saroha held her nerve against a better ranked Gurbani Singh in a play-off to register her first win of the season as she grabbed the Open title in Usha Northern India Ladies Golf Championships at the Delhi Golf Course on Thursday. Overnight leader the 16-year-old Millie, a semi-finalist at the Usha All India Ladies Amateur Golf Championships late last year, rallied in the late stages to get into a play-off which she won the second hole.
Millie’s final round of one-over 73 saw her finish the 54 holes with a total of two-over 218, the same as Gurbani, who carded 72 in the final round after rounds of 72 and 74 on first two days. Aditi Ashok finished third.
So, Gurbani had to be content with the runner-up finish for the second year running, while Aditi was third even last year. The defending champion, Vani Kapoor, has since turned professional.
The prizes were given Ms Chhaya Shriram, Executive Board Director, Usha.
In regulation play, Millie needed a birdie in one of the last two holes to catch up with Gurbani, who held a slight advantage in the closing stages. Millie got that crucial birdie on the 17th, while Gurbani managed only pars in the last two holes. In the play-off Millie nailed an eight-footer to win and with it came her first title of the year.
It was great scoring for both the youngsters on the main course at the DGC. They also putted well and strung together three fine rounds.
Aditi Ashok, the first round leader, and topper on the Order of Merit, shot 75 and finished a distant third at 222. Amandeep Drall (79) was fourth at 229, while Vrishali Sinha (76) was fifth at 232. Nanaki Chadha recovered from her first two rounds of 79 and 81 with a final round 74 that saw her come sixth with a total of 234.
Mille Saroha and Gurbani Singh also took the honours for Category A, while Aditi Ashok topped Category B with rounds of 70-77-75 and Gurjot Badwal (81-79-79) was second at 239. Amrita Anand (79-81-80) was third at 240.
Arushi Pandey and Riya Ahuja were first and second in Category C, while Tanishka Kumar and Tiya Choudhary topped Category D.
This season Aditi has won two titles, Gurbani and Millie joins the list of winners on the Usha-IGU Ladies circuit.
The Usha Northern Indian Ladies golf, one of the oldest tournaments in the country, had more than 70 golfers competing in ladies and juniors sections.
Usha has been associated with ladies golf since 1987, and this 25-year-old association is unparalleled in India. Today Usha is the nationwide sponsor of the entire Indian Golf Union (IGU) Ladies Tour.
The company, recognizing the importance of supporting golf at the junior level, has been committed to sponsoring golf for juniors for the last seven years at Delhi, Bangalore and Chandigarh and plans to continue and expand this association with the Indian Golf Union in this segment of the game.
To further enhance this belief, Usha also sponsors golf training programmes and has been associated with the Junior Training Programme at the prestigious Delhi Golf Club since 2006. USHA’s also sponsored the 33rd Queen Sirikit Cup Championship in new Delhi in 2011. It is the most important women’s amateur golf event in the Asia Pacific region.
By Indian Sports News Network
