Gurgaon: Amandeep Drall played a blemish free round of 4 under 68 to grab the lead in the first round of the seventh leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour at the Classic Golf & Country Club here on Wednesday.

Defending champion Kiran Matharu is placed second after the first round with a score of 2 under 70, followed by Smriti Mehra at even par 72 in third position. The INR 7,00,000 event featuring 22 golfers will culminate on 18th March.

Panchkula’s Amandeep Drall started confidently and played a bogey free front nine with a birdie on the 7thhole. She got better as the day progressed and three late birdies on the 16th, 17th and 18th holes helped her to secure a two shot advantage over Kiran Matharu, with a score of 4 under 68. Overseas player Kiran Matharu had a shaky start and carded three bogeys on the 1st, 2nd and 7th holes, with a lone birdie on the 6th. However, she made a strong comeback in the latter half and carded four birdies on the 10th, 14th, 17th and 18th holes to finish with a score of 2 under 70.

Kolkata’s Smriti Mehra played an eventful front nine, carding three birdies on the 4th, 5th and 9th holes while dropping shots on the 2nd, 3rd, 7th and 8th. She also carded a double bogey on the 1st hole which was negated by an eagle on the 6th. She played with much more control on her return journey, recording a flawless back nine with a birdie on the final hole.

Hero Motocorp sponsored Sharmila Nicollet is placed fourth with a score of 1 over 73. Her round included a birdie on the 6th hole along with two bogeys on the 10th and 16th. Delhi’s Vani Kapoor, Kolkata’s Neha Tripathi, Kapurthala’s Gursimar Badwal and Bengaluru’s Nikki Ponappa are all tied for the fifth position with a score of 2 over 74. Hero Order of Merit leader Neha Tripathi carded three bogeys on the 4th, 6th and 16th holes along with a lone birdie on the 18th.

Vani’s campaign on the day included four bogeys on the 4th, 6th, 7th and 11th holes along with birdies on the 10th and 14th. Nikki played a similar round with bogeys on the 1st, 4th, 6th and 8thholes along with two birdies on the 2nd and 9th. Gursimar carded three birdies on the 5th, 9th and 17th holes, which were cancelled out by bogeys on the 7th, 8th and 10th. A double on the 12th meant that she had to settle for a score of 2 over 74.

Delhi’s Mehar Atwal is placed ninth with a score of 3 over 75 after 18 holes. She is followed by Saaniya Sharma, Shweta Galande, Afshan Fatima, Trisha Sunil and Mehak Sharma all on tied 10th position with an identical score of 4 over 76.