Amandeep holds on to win fourth leg of Hero WPGT and claim first win of 2023

Khel Today Bureau 

Kolkata: Amandeep Drall managed to ward off the threat from Seher Atwal to claim her first win of 2023, as she shot even par 70 to finish at even par total of 210 for three days in the fourth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the Tollygunge Club.

Amandeep Drall, who will be travelling to play on the Ladies European Tour next month, shot rounds of 69-71-70 and finished three shots clear of Seher Atwal. Khushi Khanijau (72) was third while Vani Kapoor (73) was fourth and Neha Tripathi (73) finished fifth.

Amandeep, starting the final round five shots ahead of Seher, dropped shots on the first and fifth. Making things difficult for her was the fact that Seher birdied sixth and eighth and suddenly the gap between them had come down from five to just one. Seher was unable to maintain that momentum and dropped a shot on 12^th, while Amandeep birdied the 13^th to take her lead to three. Both birdied the Par-4 16^th and parred the last two holes to finish three shots apart.

Seher’s 2-under 68 was the day’s best score but it still failed to get her a second title of the season.

Khushi had a rough day with three bogeys against just one birdie in her 2-over 72. Vani Kapoor opened with a double and followed that up with a bogey on third. She birdied fourth and later the 15^th but she also dropped shots on eighth and 17^th and finished with 73.

Last week’s winner, Sneha Singh (73) was sole sixth, while amateur Smriti Bhargava (71), who finished as the best amateur, had four birdies, three bogeys and one double and ended in a tie for seventh with Jasmine Shekar (75). They totalled 223.

Jyotsana Singh, who had one of the day’s two under par cards at 69, and amateur Janneya Dasanniee (75) were ninth and tenth.

The second-place finish carried Seher to the top of the Hero Order of Merit after four events, while Sneha Singh was second. Amandeep Drall with her first win of 2023 moved up to third. Jasmine Shekar and Khushi Khanijau are fourth and fifth respectively on the Money List.