Ridhima Dilawari captured her maiden professional title as she cruised to a five-shot win in the 17th Leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the Noida Golf Course on Friday. Ridhima, who turned pro soon after representing India at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, carded a steady even Par 72 to total five-over 221 and win by five shots over Gursimar Badwal.
It was only the third start for Ridhima on the domestic Tour. She has also played at the Hero Women’s Indian Open on the Ladies European Tour and finished T-20.
Interestingly, Ridhima finished second in the 15th Leg, which was her debut event on the local tour, and was then leading into the final round in the 16th leg but faltered and finished Tied-fourth as Tvesa won her fourth title of the year. This time Ridhima had no such hiccups and the title came her way.
20-year-old Ridhima took a year off after her second year at Columbia University in the US to represent India at the Asian Games, and then turned pro. She now has a win, a second place and Tied-4th in three appearances besides a Top-20 at the Hero Women’s Indian Open to give her pro career a solid start.
In the final round at the Noida Golf Course, she started with a one-shot lead over the leading domestic star this year, Tvesa Malik. Ridhima began sedately with five pars but then bogeyed the sixth, which she neutralized with a birdie on eighth. Another dropped shot on ninth saw her turn in one-over. But by then Tvesa had dropped two shots on the front nine and fallen three back.
On the back nine Ridhima was very consistent. She played steady and did not drop any shots. She also picked up a birdie on the Par-5 14th to coast to a comfortable win.
Tvesa fell further back as she played six-over 42 for the back nine which included a triple bogey on the Par-5 17th and bogeys on 11th, 15th and 18th. She finished seventh.
Gursimar Badwal played her best round of the week with an even par 72 and climbed to second, while Millie Saroha had one of her best weeks of the year despite a 77 in the final round, and was Tied-third with Siddhi Kapoor (77).
Neha Tripathi (74) and Amandeep Drall (76) were Tied-fifth ahead of Tvesa at seventh, while Saaniya Sharma (76) and Afshan Fatima (78) were eighth and ninth. Smriti Meha, who started the week with a fine round of 72, fell back on the next two and finished tenth.
Tvesa with Rs.15,89,200 maintains her top spot on the Hero Order of Merit, while Amandeep Drall with Rs.11,56,000 is second and Neha Tripathi is the third player to cross the Rs.10 lakh mark at Rs.10,48,200.
The 18th and final leg of the season will be held from December 11th to 14th at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club.
Round 2 – Rookie Ridhima and in-form Tvesa to battle it out in 17th leg of Hero WPG Tour
NOIDA, November 29: Rookie Ridhima Dilawari put herself in a position to bag her first title as a professional, while Tvesa Malik made a strong comeback in the second round to set up a keen tussle for the top honours in the 17th Leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour.
Ridhima, who turned out for India at the Asian Games in Jakarta and then decided to take a plunge into the pro ranks, is playing only her third event on the Hero WPG Tour, but has shown enough signs of maturity. She shot three-over 75 on a day when only Order of Merit leader Tvesa Malik (72) carded par or better. Ridhima is five-over 149 and leads Tvesa by one shot.
Smriti Mehra, who led on the first day, had a rough second round when she dropped four bogeys in a span of five holes. She ended up with a seven-over 79 and slipped to Tied-third place alongside Siddhi Kapoor (74) and Millie Saroha (77).
Ridhima opened the day with a birdie on the first and added two more on fifth and 17th, while she dropped bogeys on third, fourth and sixth and further on ninth, tenth and 12th.
Tvesa, who had a disappointing 78 on the first day, showed why she has been so consistent and a winner four times this year, as she played steady golf with two birdies and two bogeys. She bogeyed third and sixth, made up with birdies on ninth and 13th and parred the rest.
Siddhi Kapoor had one birdie against three bogeys in her 74, while Millie had three birdies but also dropped six bogeys and a double on the Par-5 first hole.
Amandeep Drall (77) and Gursimar Badwal (78) occupied the sixth and seventh places, while Saaniya Sharma on a comeback from injury enjoyed a solid round of 74 after a first round 81. Saaniya is Tied-eighth alongside Afshan Fatima (78) and Neha Tripathi (79).
The final day’s action will begin with Komal Chaudhary, Mehar Atwal and Khushi Khanijau in the first group, followed by amateur Diksha Dagar, Vaishavi SInha and Neha Tripathi. The third group has Afshan Fatima, Saaniya Sharma and Gursimar Badwal, while the penultimate group will see Amandeep Drall, Smriti Mehra and Millie Saroha play together.
The final group promises an interesting battle with Ridhima Dilawari looking for her maiden professional title, going out with Tvesa Malik, a shot behind and searching for her fifth success this season, and Siddhi Kapoor.
Smriti Mehra takes two-shot lead in 17th leg of Hero WPG Tour
NOIDA, November 28: Smriti Mehra bogeyed the last hole, but still managed to hold a two-shot lead at the end of the first day of the 17th leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour. Smriti had three birdies against three bogeys in her even par 72 at the NOIDA Golf club.
Smriti led Ridhima Dilawari (74) and Millie Saroha (74) by two strokes while Amandeep Drall was two shots further down at 76, along with Neha Tripathi and Gursimar Badwal.
The surprise of the opening day was Tvesa Malik, the leader on the Order of Merit and winner of four events this year. She had a terrible run between the sixth and the 12th, as she dropped four bogeys and a double bogey in the stretch and ended the day with a series of six pars and a card of 78. She is six shots behind Smriti Mehra.
Amateur Diksha Dagar, who has a win on the pro circuit against her name, Afshan Fatima and Siddhi Kapoor shot 77 each to be Tied-seventh. Tvesa was 10th.
Smriti, who is still looking for her first win of the year had a birdie on fourth, but she gave that back on sixth and fell to one-over at the turn with a bogey on Par-4 ninth. On the back nine, she recovered to red numbers as she birdied the 12thand 14th to get to one-under. However, right at the end on the 18th, she dropped a shot to be get back to even par.
Ridhima was three-over by the seventh, but birdies on eighth and 10th saw her fight back before she dropped another shot on 11th. With seven pars on the last seven holes, she carded 74.
Millie bogeyed four in a row from second to fifth, but came back with birdies on sixth and 10th. She parred the rest for her 74.
In the second round on Thursday, Komal Chaudhary plays with Khushi Khanijau and Saaniya Sharma, while Vaishavi SInha will go out with Mehar Atwal and Tvesa Malik. In the third group, Siddhi Kapoor, amateur Diksha Dagar and Afshan Fatima will play together, while the penultimate threesome is made up of Gursimar Badwal, Neha Tripathi and Amandeep Drall. The leader group comprises of Millie Saroha, Ridhima Dilawari and Smriti Mehra.
Tvesa ready for another shot at glory in 17th leg of Hero WPGT
NOIDA, November 27: Tvesa Malik, who has won four times in 16 starts his season on the Hero Womens Pro Golf Tour is all set for encore as she tees up at the 17th and penultimate leg of the Tour on Wednesday.
Tvesa, who has been having a dream season, will try and add to the four titles, even as she further extends her lead in the order of Merit. Her closest rival is Amandeep Drall, who trails her by just over Rs. four lakhs and forty three thousand. Amandeep has three wins, though she has played three events less than Tvesa.
The only other player to have won more than once this year is Gursimar Badwal.
Returning to action after a long time in India is Vaishavi SInha, while Saaniya Sharma, who was injured for much of the season, will be looking to find some form towards the end of the year.
Diksha Dagar, who has in the past won on the Hero Women’s Pro Tour, despite still being an amateur will also be in the fray.
On the first day, Mehar Atwal goes out with Afshan Fatima in the first group, while Ridhima Dilawari plays with Ayesha Kapur in the second two-ball. In the next group, Amandeep is with Smriti Mehra and Komal Chaudhary, while the fourth group has Vaishavi Sinha, Neha Tripathi and Gursimar. The second to last group has Khushi Khanijau, Saaniya Sharma and Tvesa Malik, while the last group features Millie Saroha, amateur Diksha Dagar and Siddhi Kapoor.
