Vani and Gauri keep Indian flag high at Indian Open

New Delhi: Vani Kapoor and amateur Gauri Monga kept the Indian hopes high as they shot one-over 73 each in the first round of the $ 300,000 Hero Women’s Indian Open 2013 at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) here on Thursday.

On a day when Thailand’s Thidapa Suwannapura and French golfer Valentine Derrey stole the limelight with matching rounds of 66 for joint lead, Vani and local amateur Gauri ended the day in tied 13th position with 21 other golfers.

Neha Tripathi, the winner of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour order of merit list this season, is a stroke behind Vani and Gauri in Tied 36thposition, while Hero Moto Corp-sponsored Sharmila Nicollet, the only Indian to have a card on Ladies European Tour, wasn’t in her best form and shot a three-over 75 for 47th place.

Amateurs Millie Saroha and Aditi Ashok managed a 76 each while stalwart Smriti Mehra is a stroke behind them in tied 66th place with compatriots Ankita Tiwana, Rhea Nair and amateur Gursimar Badhwal.

Vani, winner of two events and second in the Hero order of merit on the Hero Women’s Pro Golf tour, was off to a flying start as she made a birdie on the opening hole. She dropped her first shot on the sixth but recovered with a fine birdie on the seventh hole. She set up six pars in a row before dropping her second bogey of the day on 14th. She, however, sank one more bogey on 16th, but she was satisfied with her overall performance.

“An even-par round would have been much better but it wasn’t a bad round. I drove and putted well and used my driver a lot. I am seven strokes short of the joint leaders, but this is DGC, and anything can happen here in next two days. So, I am hopeful of better performance over the next two days.”

Gauri, who started from 10th tee, had a roller-coaster ride on the front nine with bogeys on 13th and 16th and a birdie on 14th. But on her back nine, the DGC amateur charged into contention with birdies on third, sixth and seventh to go two-under. She couldn’t capitalize on the momentum and a nightmarish triple bogey on par-4 ninth hole forced her score an over-par round.

Playing with the LET sensations Charley Hull and Holly Clyburn, Indian star Sharmila started off on a positive note with a birdie on the fourth but bogeys on par 3s fifth and seventh holes and another on the ninth spoilt her chances. She recovered a bit on the back nine, but she was unfortunate not to find a single birdie thereafter. She dropped a shot on 14th before securing pars on next four holes.

“I didn’t expect a three-over on the first day. I think I need more accuracy in next two rounds. I am not disappointed and will aim to recover”, she said afterthe round.

Indians’ scoresheet

73- Gauri Monga (A), Vani Kapoor
74- Neha Tripathi
75- Sharmila Nicollet
76- Millie Saroha (A), Aditi Ashok (A)
77- Smriti Mehra, Ankita Tiwana, Rhea Nair, GursimarBadhwal (A),
78- Gurbani Singh (A), Preetinder Kaur
79- Niki Ponappa
80- Seher Atwal (A)