Ahmedabad: Kolkata golfer Neha Tripathi carded one under 71 to grab the lead in the first round of the Rs 6,00,000 Hero women's Professional Tour at the Kalhaar Blues and Greens here on Wednesday.
Trailing her in tied-second position with identical scores of three over 75 are Gursimar Badwal and veteran Smriti Mehra.
Neha had a shaky start, carding a bogey on the very first hole. She went on to card another bogey on the fourth, with birdies on the fifth and seventh in her front nine.
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She played a more controlled back nine, carding birdies on the 12th and 16th holes while dropping a shot on the 17th to finish with a score of one under 71.
Kapurthala's Gursimar and Kolkata's Smriti were tied second with identical scores of three over 75 after 18 holes.
Gursimar carded a birdie less front nine, with bogeys on the first and eighth holes and a double on the fifth. She regained her composure and carded a bogey free back nine, finishing with a birdie on the 18th hole.
Smriti would have hoped for a better start, carding a double on the very first hole. She went on to card a birdie less front nine, dropping shots on the fourth, sixth and eighth holes.
She turned things around in the back nine, carding birdies on the 11th, 14th and 18th holes, while dropping a shot on the 13th to finish with a score of three over 75.
Finishing on fourth with a score of four over 76 was Amandeep Drall, who carded birdies on the second, fifth and ninth holes, while dropping shots on the first, fourth and seventh.
She also carded a double bogey on the third hole. She started her back nine impressively, firing an eagle on the 12th hole. The advantage was, however, short lived as she carded a double on the 13th followed by bogeys on the 15th and 17th.
Gurgaon's Gaurika Bishnoi finished fifth with a score of six over 78 while Kolkata's Siddhi Kapoor carded seven over 79 to take the sixth position, followed by Chandigarh's Saaniya Sharma in seventh with a score of 10 over 82.
