Gurgaon: Buoyed by her maiden victory this season, Amandeep Drall will eye her second consecutive title in the seventh leg of the Hero Women’s professional Golf Tour at the Classic Golf & Country Club. The INR 7,00,000 event will see 21 professional golfers and Tavleen Batra, the lone amateur, fighting it out for the top spot, and will be played from 16th to 18th March.
Amandeep is currently placed sixth in the Hero Order of Merit with total earnings of INR 2,89,000 in three appearances this season and will be eager to make up lost ground due to her overseas participation. She can, however, expect a run for her money from Neha Tripathi, Kiran Matharu and Vani Kapoor.
Kolkata’s Neha Tripathi currently leads the Hero Order of Merit with total earnings of INR 4,30,900 in six appearances. She has been in good form and will be eager to continue in the same vein. Kiran Matharu is placed second in the Hero Order of Merit with total earnings of INR 3,96,400 in six appearances. She is yet to win a title this season and will be keen to get off the mark. This course has been a happy hunting ground for her, where she carded 17 under 199 last year. This has been the best three day total in the Tour’s history. Vani Kapoor has two victories to her credit, and like Amandeep lost momentum due to her overseas commitments. She is placed fifth in the Hero Order of Merit with total earnings of INR 3,34,200 in three appearances, and will be keen to regain her top position.
Kolkata’s Smriti Mehra is another golfer to watch out for. She is still searching for her first win in the ongoing season and would like to draw inspiration from her second place finish in Pune, and also her course record of 7 under 65 at the same venue last year. Hero Motocorp sponsored Bengaluru golfer Sharmila Nicollet has struggled to make an impact this season. She will be eager to make amends and will be hoping for a podium finish.
Other golfers in the fray are Chandigarh’s Saaniya Sharma, Kapurthala’s Gursimar Badwal and Delhi’s Ankita Tiwana.
The picturesque par 72, Jack Nicklaus Signature Course is all set to play host to some of the best women professionals in the country.
