Kolkata: Amandeep Drall, currently placed fifth on the Indian Golf Union (IGU) amateur ladies tour Order of Merit list 2013, grabbed the first day lead carding a sedate one over 71 at the USHA West Bengal Ladies & Junior Girls Amateur Championship 2013, which got underway at the Tollygunge Golf Club (TGC) course in the city. Millie Saroha, ranked third on the IGU Ladies Order of Merit, is trailing her by four strokes in the Ladies section and finished the day in second position. Millie returned a card of five over 75 for the day. There are 36 holes of golf still left to be played in the tournament and both Amandeep and Millie are experienced enough to not let go of a good start, as is evident by their tour rankings.

While Amandeep did not drop a shot on the front nine with the help of two birdies and two bogeys, the Par Five 13th proved to be unlucky for her on the back nine, leading to her eventually finishing the day one over par. Millie on her part was more consistent with her shot drops, giving up two on the front nine and three on the back, resulting in the card of five over for the day. The fancied Gauri Monga, a former IGU Ladies Tour winner had an off day by her standards, ending up with a final day one score of six over 76 to be placed third. She is in striking position though and has the ability to turn the tables going forward. It is therefore going to be an interesting two days of golf going forward leading up to the finish.

In the Category A section, another fancied lady golfer Seher Atwal led the field with a score of two over 72 at the end of day one. Ridhima Dilawari trailed her by four strokes and lay second with a score of six over 76. Amrita Anand (nine over 79) and Shruti Shenoy (11 over 81) finished one and two respectively in the Category B section.

That the women were finding the course difficult to overcome was evident by the lack of any sub-par rounds thus far. On such courses one special round of golf is often enough to win you the tournament.