Noida, Nov 14 (IANS) Mahreen Bhatia became the first amateur to win on the Women’s Pro Golf Tour this season as she held off a strong field in the 15th Leg of the Tour at the Jaypee Wishtown Golf Course. Mahreen, 16, carded 4-under 67 following up on rounds of 68-66 on the first two days to win with a total of 12-under and triumph by three shots at the Jaypee Wishtown Golf Course.
The last amateur to win on the WPG Tour before Mahreen was Nishna Patel in the first leg of the 2024 season last January.
Mahreen, who led by two shots at the start of the final day, began with two pars and then hit the top gear between the third and the sixth. She birdied the third and the fifth and eagled the Par-4 sixth, even as Vani Kapoor birdied the third, fifth, and the seventh and dropped a shot on the fourth.
By the time Mahreen and Vani made the turn, the former had moved four shots clear and was all set to become the first amateur to win this season.
Then came a two-shot swing in favour of Vani, as Mahreen dropped her first bogey on the par-4 11th and Vani birdied the 12th, which Mahreen parred. Suddenly, the gap narrowed from four shots to just two, and it was an open contest.
However, Mahreen showed great composure and picked back-to-back birdies on the 14th and the 15th while Vani birdied the 12th and the 14th but dropped a shot on the 15th, which meant a two-shot swing in Mahreen’s favour this time.
With three holes to go, the teenager was once again four shots clear and could afford to drop a shot on Par-4 17th and par the 18th for a round of 67 and a total of 12-under 204 for 54 holes.
Vani finished the week with three pars and carded 69-67-68 and totalled 9-under 208 for three rounds. Sneha Singh (70) finished third at 5-under, while Jahanvi Bakshi (70) was fourth at 3-under. Jasmine Shekar, who shot the day’s equal best score of 67, was fifth at one-under 212.
Only five players finished under par for the week as seven players shot under par in the final round, and two others carded even par rounds. Mahreen’s 66 on the second day was the best card of the week.
Three players, Lavanya Jadon (71), who was the first-round leader, Kriti Chowhan (72), and amateur Saanvi Somu (72), were tied sixth at 1-over 214. Khushi Khanijau (69) completed the Top 10 of the 15th Leg.
Heena Kang, Yashita Raghav, and Ridhima Dilawari were tied 11th, while Amandeep Drall and Anvitha Narender were tied 14th.
There has been at least one amateur winner each year on the Hero WPGT since 2016. They have included the likes of Diksha Dagar, Pranavi Urs, Sneha Singh, Ridhima Dilawari, Avani Prashanth, Vidhatri Urs, and the last one was Nishna Patel in the first event of the 2024 season. Earlier amateur winners have included Aditi Ashok, Tvesa Malik, Gurbani Singh, Raksha Phadke, and Meher Atwal, among others.
–IANS
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