Jahanvi Bakshi showed a lot of maturity in the closing stages of the final round to stay calm and win the seventh leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the DLF Golf and Country Club. It was her second career title on the Tour and she has won twice and finished second once in her last three starts.
Jahanvi seemed to be carrying on from where she let off in the first half of the season. Jahanvi, elder of the two teenaged golf-playing sisters, had won the fifth leg and finished second in the sixth leg when the first half of the season ended in March before the pandemic. Jahanvi’s sister, Hitaashee, was Tied-ninth.
After 73-70 in the first two rounds, Jahanvi shot 2-over 74 in the third round for a total of 1-over 217, while amateur Avani Prashanth (73) with a bogey on 18th was forced to settle for second at 2-over 218.
Yet another amateur Sneha Singh (76) crumbled at the finish with two bogeys and a double bogey to fall to third at 3-over 219.
It was a tight battle for honours with all three in the running with four holes to go on the back nine.
Jahanvi, 18, overcame a double bogey on Par-4 14th, and played out of the last four holes with steady pars and stayed ahead.
In contrast Avani, who was tied with Jahanvi even after 17 holes, faltered with a bogey on Par-5 18th. Playing in the same group, Sneha Singh had a disastrous finish at the challenging DLF layout. She dropped four shots in four holes including a double bogey.
Seher Atwal, one of the two players to register an under-par score in the first round, dropped down with 77-82 in the final two rounds to finish a distant fourth at 14-over 230.
Siddhi Kapoor (74) was fifth, while Gaurika Bishnoi (76), who plans to travel to Europe soon, was sixth. Oviya Reddi (77) and Trimann Saluja (83) were tied for seventh. Amateur Zara Anand (77), Afshan Fatima (79) and Hitaashee Bakshi (83) were tied ninth.
The eighth leg of the Hero WPG Tour will start at the Golden Green Golf Club in Gurugram from September 8.
