TEEN AMATEUR AVANI STUNS TOP PROS TO WIN 3RD LEG
Teenaged Avani Prashanth rode on the
wings of an eagle followed by some steady golf to join the elite list of amateurs who have won a pro title on the Hero Women ’ s Pro Golf Tour . A brilliant final round of 3-under 67 in the third leg of the Hero WPGT saw her overturn a threeshot deficit into a 2-shot win at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club .
Avani , just 14 years of age , started and ended the week with cards of 67 and in between shot even par 70 on the second day . Her three-day total of six-under 204 saw her top the charts ahead of the experienced Amandeep Drall ( 69 ) who aggregated 4-under 206 .
Vani Kapoor ( 68 ) finished third at 208 , while Seher Atwal , searching for her maiden win as a pro , struggled on the front nine with a 40 and carded 75 to drop to fourth place at 1-under 209 . The top four players had under par totals .
Sisters Jahanvi Bakshi ( 70 ) and Hitaashee Bakshi ( 71 ) were fifth and sixth , while Ridhima Dilawari ( 69 ), who herself won as an amateur back in 2018 , ended seventh despite an eagle finish . Rhea Purvi Saravanan ( 74 ), Gauri Karhade ( 72 ) and Khushi Khanijau ( 75 ) occupied the eighth to 10th places .
Avani , who first wielded a golf club thanks to her father MS Prashanth , has been playing
Avani is now trained by Laurence Brotheridge , who coaches from the Oxford Golf Club in Pune .
SEHER ATWAL GRABS MAIDEN PRO WIN IN 4TH LEG
Seher Atwal finally broke through for her maiden professional win
as she held her nerve despite three bogeys on the front nine in the final round of the fourth leg of the Hero Women ’ s Pro Golf Tour at the Poona Club Golf Course . Niece of Indian golf legend Arjun Atwal , 22-year old Seher , who started the day with a two-shot lead , shot a final round of 2-over 73 but still emerged a three-shot winner over Vani Kapoor ( 74 ) and Hitaashee Bakshi ( 75 ).
On a somewhat chilly and windy day at the Poona Club Golf Course , there were no sub-par rounds and only three players shot even par 71 .
For Vani , this was her best result since tying for second in the sixth leg before Covid hit last year . Hitaashee won the last event of 2020 and was runner-up in the second leg this year , indicating good progress . competitive golf since the age of six and is well travelled , having also played at the UK Kids International events , including the one in Scotland . A product of the KGA , she is
Leader on the Hero Order of Merit Amandeep Drall , tiedsecond overnight , was unable to find any birdies in her round of 76 and slipped to Tied-4th alongside amateur Sneha Singh ( 73 ) and Jahanvi Bakshi ( 74 ).
Seher , who turned pro when the Hero WPGT Tour returned to golf after the break due to Covid , was playing in only her seventh start . “ It ’ s a big relief to get the job done . I will not lie . I was quite nervous at the start
“ It ’ s a big relief to get the job done . I will not lie . I was quite nervous at the start and it was the windiest of the three days . ”
Ladies on the Link
Amateur Avani Prashanth gets her prize as winner of Hero WPGT Leg 3
now trained by Laurence Brotheridge , who coaches from the Oxford Golf Club in Pune . Avani was also picked by the Virat Kohli Foundation in 2019 and since then her career has been on the rise including a bunch of wins on the amateur circuit .
Seher Atwal in action and on right gets her cheque from Mr . Andrew Pinto , Chairman , Tournaments PCGC and Mrs . Padmaja Shirke , Lady Captain , PCGC
and it was the windiest of the three days . I am glad I could hold on ,” said Seher .
Seher , coached by Nonita Lall Qureshi , has finished in the Top-10 in each of her previous six starts , with a second place at the eighth leg last year in DLF as her best . She was also third at Classic in the ninth and last leg of 2020 , and finished fourth in the third leg at BPGC last week .
“ I came back from the US , where I was at Rollins , in March because of Covid and graduated in May . When I was in the US , I would often speak to Arjun uncle , and even played with him . With college and practice , it was not as often as I would have wanted , but yes I was in touch with him ,” added Seher .
GolfPlus MARCH 2021 15