Visakhapatnam : Amateur Sneha Singh ensured she would figure in the list of champions for the fourth straight year as she played one of the best nine hole stretches in the history of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the East Point Golf Club.
Sneha, trailing Jahanvi Bakshi by two shots after the second round, fell back even more after a bogey-bogey start. To make it worse, the overnight leader birdied the second and the lead swelled to five shots.
Yet by the end of the day, Sneha won by three shots, as she shot 7-under 29 on the back nine of the Par-72 layout at the East Point Golf Club. The nine-hole run had four birdies and the first ever albatross on the WPGT as Sneha holed her wedge shot from just over 120 yards.
As Sneha ended at 10-under 206, Jahanvi, four-time winner in 2021, was second at 7-under 209. Ridhima Dilawari (72) was third at 2-under 214.
While Sneha took the trophy, Jahanvi picked up the winning cheque as the top professional.
With Jahanvi dropping shots on two par 5s and managing only two birdies on the home stretch, she ended with 71 for her third successive under par round. However, Sneha, who had brought down the deficit to four when the leaders took the turn, was in sizzling form.
After birdies on 10th and 13th she holed her second shot on the Par-5 14h for an albatross which put her back into contention. Further birdies on 15th and 17th sealed her first win of 2022 and her fourth on WPGT while still an amateur. It was among the finest nine-hole runs in Indian women’s golf.
Sneha has now won at least once each year since 2019.
The Hyderabad-based Sneha, who started playing at the famous Royal Calcutta Golf Club before she was four, is now based in Hyderabad. She is coached by her father, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Class A certified Golf Teaching Professional and a former Professional golfer on the men’s Indian Tour. Apart from her pro wins, she has won both the All India Juniors and the All India Ladies Amateur Golf Championship.
The fact that both the winner and runner-up shot all three rounds under par and the first four players carded par or better totals, speaks volumes about the rise in quality of golf on the WPGT. Overall, there were 13 under par rounds and another six were par.
Gaurika Bishnoi (72) was fourth at even par 216, while Rhea Purvi Saravanan (76) was fifth. Seher Atwal (73) was sixth.
Pranavi Urs, winner of the first leg, finally got an under par round this week with 71. Nayanika Sanga (74) and Neha Tripathi (78) were Tied-seventh. Neha went 10 shots more than her second round 68. Amateur Vidhatri Urs and Hitaashee Bakshi were tied tenth.
Jahanvi Bakshi with her second place finish but 1st amongst the professionals overtook Pranavi on the Hero Order of Merit. Pranavi was second and Gaurika Bishnoi was third after two events.
–IANS