Key Points
Vani wins after strategic birdie on 15th hole
Overcame early bogeys to secure victory
Defeated two talented amateurs
Moves to second in Order of Merit
Vani, 31, bogeyed the 11th and the 13th and, at that stage, trailed two amateurs, Saanvi Somu, the overnight leader, and Anuradha Chaudhuri. The three were playing together in the final group.
Then came the turnaround as Vani birdied the Par-4 15th. On the same hole, Anuradha dropped a bogey for a two-shot swing. From being one ahead, Anuradha fell one back.
Saanvi, who with five holes left was even-par for the tournament and in the lead, also bogeyed the 15th to fall to one-over. She was then tied with Vani. Saanvi, who has finished as runner-up four times in the past, parred the 16th but dropped shots on the 17th and the 18th, which were parred by Vani and Anuradha.
The pars helped Vani stay ahead of the field at 1-under 69 for the day and 1-over 211 total. Anuradha was stranded at 2-over and was the sole second. Saanvi, meanwhile, fell to 3-over and finished in a tie for third alongside Sneha Singh (66) and Ridhima Dilawari (67), who had earlier taken the clubhouse lead at 3-over.
Vani opened the day with two birdies on the first two holes but then endured eight pars after that. She bogeyed the 11th and the 13th to fall back but produced a winning birdie on the 15th.
Anuradha played consistently with one birdie and one bogey, but the latter proved costly, while Sneha and Ridhima produced the two best cards of the day. Sneha was bogey-free with 66, and Ridhima shot 67 with four birdies against one bogey.
Saanvi had three birdies and five bogeys, three of which came in the last four holes and cost her a maiden win on the pro tour while still being an amateur.
Lavanya Jadon (71), Shweta Mansingh (70), amateur Mannat Brar (72), and Jasmine Shekar (75) occupied the sixth to the ninth place while three players including the 2024 Hero Order of Merit winner, Hitaashee Bakshi (75), amateur Keerthana Rajeev (73) and Khushi Khanijau (71) tied for the tenth place.
Among other prominent players, Gaurika Bishnoi (77) was T-13, Seher Atwal (80) was T-16, Amandeep Drall (75) was T-18, and Neha Tripathi (77) was T-21.
Sneha Singh, who was tied fifth in the first leg and won the next two, finished tied third this week. She continued to lead the Order of Merit with winnings of Rs.5,76,900, while Vani Kapoor moved into second place with Rs.4,54,000 and Jasmine Shekar with Rs.3,26,500 was third.
It was a great week for amateurs, who had four finishers in the Top-10. Two of those amateurs, Saanvi and Mannat, are headed to the Women's Amateur Asia Pacific Championships in Vietnam next week.
