Hero Golf: Shweta Galande leads on Day 1

Shweta Galande

Shweta gets off to a perfect start

Bangalore, July 9 (IANS) Pune's Shweta Galande carded Wednesday's lowest total of 1 under 71 at the KGA Golf Course to lead the field on Day 1 of the Rs.5 lakh eighth leg of the Hero Women's Professional Golf Tour here from July 9-11.

Trailing Shweta by a stroke was Jaipur's Pallavi Jain in second position after Round 1. Local girl Sharmila Nicollet along with the city's amateur golfers Nikita Arjun and Anisha Padukone and Pune's Raksha Phadke were tied third with identical scores of 1 over 73 after 18 holes. Shweta, who has failed to capitalise on her first round many times in the past, would be keen to break the jinx in this leg. She played a flawless front nine with two birdies on the first and seventh holes followed by a near perfect back nine, fumbling just once on the 11th with a bogey. She finished with 1 under 71.

With a patchy front nine which included two bogeys on the third and seventh holes, Pallavi quickly stabilised herself carding two consecutive birdies on the eighth and ninth. She played a cautious back nine carding a bogey and a birdie apiece on the 11th and 15th holes. Sharmila would have been leading Shweta had she not faltered on the 18th with a double bogey. She started off impressively on her home turf with three birdies on the first, sixth and seventh following it by two bogeys on ninth and 17th.

Nikita had an indifferent start, carding a bogey on the third and followed it by a double bogey on the seventh, balancing her errors with a birdie on the sixth to complete her front nine. She raised her game to finish with an impressive bogey, free back nine which included a birdie on the 13th.

Four-way battle for the third place

Anisha also had a very similar scorecard which included a birdie on the fifth, a double bogey on the sixth and a bogey on the eighth in her front nine. Thereafter, Anisha played an error free back nine with a lone birdie on the 11th. Raksha was the most impressive among the amateurs as she started with a flawless front nine, with a single birdie on the sixth. She, however, could not keep up the momentum, faltering in her back nine with two bogeys on the 14th and 17th.

Delhi's Ankita Tiwana and current Order of Merit leader Vani Kapoor were tied at seventh with identical totals of 2 over 74. Ankita, who won the seventh leg, carded four birdies on second, eighth, ninth and 10th followed it up by six bogeys on fifth, sixth, 11th, 13th, 14th and 16th.

On the other hand, Vani would prefer to move past her first round performance very soon. Her round consisted of five bogeys on the first, third, fourth, 17th and 18th. Her only respite in a mediocre round were her three birdies on the sixth, 12th and 14th.

Delhi amateur Mehar Atwal finished ninth with a score of 3 over 75, while Chandigarh's Saaniya Sharma is 10th with a score of 4 over 76.