Golfer Saaniya reigns supreme in Coimbatore

HELPED BY a late flurry of birdies, Saaniya Sharma carded an even par 72 on the final day to win the 13th leg of the Hero Women's Professional Golf Tour at the Coimbatore Golf Club in Coimbatore on Friday.

She finished her campaign with a total score of 220 to clinch her first title of the season, also her first since the 2011-2012 season. Vani Kapoor finished second with a total score of 225 at the Rs.5 lakh event.

Saaniya refrained from taking risks in challenging conditions and played a birdie-less front nine with a lone bogey on the seventh hole. However, she had a slight lapse in concentration and carded two bogeys on the 10th and 11th.

Thereafter, the Chandigarh pro composed herself and fired four consecutive birdies on the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th. Another dropped shot on the 17th could not prevent her from registering a five shot victory over Vani.

Order of Merit leader Vani had an off day and carded four bogeys on the fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth with a lone birdie on the ninth in her front nine. However, the Delhi youngster played much better in the back nine, dropping just two shots on the 12th and 17th along with a birdie on the 11th. She finished with 4 over 76 to finish second. This is Vani's sixth runners-up finish and she also has four victories to her name.

Kolkata's Neha Tripathi played aggressively and carded four birdies on the fourth, ninth, 11th and 18th. However, bogeys on the sixth, seventh, 10th and 15th along with a triple on the third undid her good work and she had to be content with third with a total score of 228 after 54 holes. Her effort of 3 over 75 helped her finish ahead of Amandeep Drall, who finished fourth.

Panchkula's Amandeep struggled to stitch together a series of consistent shots and carded 5 over 77. Her error prone round included six bogeys on the second, fourth, 13th, 16th, 17th and 18th with a lone birdie on the fifth. She finished with 230.

Pune's Shweta Galande finished fifth with 231. She played a birdie-less round with five bogeys on the third, fourth, sixth, 12th and 14th to card 5 over 77. She was followed by Delhi's Ankita Tiwana in sixth with a total score of 237. Jaipur's Afshan Fatima finished seventh at 243, followed by Delhi's Mehar Atwal in eighth at 246.