Vani aims for fifth title

Local star Vani Kapoor will draw inspiration from her early season form and a return to winning ways in the 17th leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour which gets under way at the picturesque Noida Golf Course from Wednesday.

The Rs 5,00,000 event will feature 13 professionals and amateur Tavleen Batra vying for top honours in the three-day action.

Vani leads the Hero Order of Merit and has posted four wins in 16 appearances this season. Her last win came at the Eagleton on the 10th leg of the Tour. A win here will stretch her unassailable lead further at the top of the leaderboard.

Vani, who finished as the best Indian professional at the recently-concluded Hero Women’s Indian Open last month, will however face a strong challenge from Amandeep Drall.

The Panchkula rookie, currently occupying second place in the order of merit, has two wins and is outright favourite to win the Rookie of the Year award. She has been one of the more consistent players this year and is expected to push Vani to the hilt to secure her third win this season.

Kolkata’s Neha Tripathi, sitting third in the money list, will be eager to register her first win this year. Neha, who has been guilty of letting potentially winning situations slip away, will look to break the jinx and end her title drought.

Kolkata’s Smriti Mehra, also with two wins, will be aiming for a top finish in the penultimate event of the season, while Kapurthala’s Gursimar Badwal will also be hoping for her first professional title.

This event also marks the return of English player Kiran Matharu after a gap of five months. She has already won twice this season and will be eager to add another title to her tally. Other players to watch out for will be Chandigarh’s Saaniya Sharma, Pune’s Shweta Galande and the Delhi trio of Mehar Atwal, Gauri Monga and Ankita Tiwana.

Hero Motocorp sponsored Sharmila Nicollet is a notable absentee from the event.