Gursimar rallies to win fifth leg, moves to top of Order of Merit

Gursimar Badwal returned a second sub-par card of 70 to claim the fifth leg of the Hero Womens Pro Golf Tour as she zoomed to the top of the Hero Order of Merit, here today.

The 24-year-old Kapurthala golfer, who earlier won the third leg at Poona Club Golf Course, became the first multiple winner of the season.

Gursimar, played flawless golf and had three birdies against no bogeys when she arrived on the 18th tee. She bogeyed the 18th as overnight leader Neha Tripathi, playing behind her, birdied the 17th. That meant Neha needed a birdie on the closing hole to force a play-off. However, she managed only a par and had to settle for the second place.
 

Gursimar, who started the final day in fifth place and three shots behind Neha (74), totalled even par 216 for 54 holes and won by one shot despite a closing bogey on 18th.

Neha paid a heavy price for her scratchy front nine where she not only bogeyed three times but also dropped a crippling triple bogey on the Par-3 fifth hole.

Neha, who held the sole lead after two rounds, shot four-over 40 on the front nine and despite a two-under 34 on the back stretch of the Jaypee Greens layout, Gursimar pipped her by a shot.

This was Nehas third runner-up finish in the 5 events played so far, with Gursimar edging her out on two occasions.

The pleasant surprise of the week was amateur Tanirika Singh, who put up a consistent show. Her final round of 74 earned her a sole third spot ahead of many established players.

Saaniya Sharma (76) and Afshan Fatima (76) were Tied-4th after a disappointing final round. They both began the day at Tied-second, but failed to pose a challenge after giving away too many strokes on the front stretch.

Tvesa Malik had three birdies against five bogeys in her 74 and finished sixth at 5-over 221. Anisha Padukone (80) was undone by two holes a double on Par-5 13th and a quadruple bogey on Par-4 18th. Those six dropped shots saw her finish at 80 and she was seventh.

Siddhi Kapoor (78) was eighth, while Smriti Mehra (74) and Suchitra Ramesh (77) were Tied-9th to round off the Top-10.

This weeks win also meant the erstwhile leader Tvesa was overtaken by Gursimar in the Hero Order Merit. Tvesa is now second and Neha third. Saaniya Sharma and Smriti Mehra are fourth and fifth.