Third title for Smriti

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Smriti Mehra

Delhi’s Nalini Singh Siwach faltered on the back nine when a second consecutive title was in her sights in the sixth leg of the Hero-WGAI Women’s Pro Tour at the challenging Golden Greens golf course in Gurgaon on Thursday.

Leading by one stroke with seven holes to go, Nalini bogeyed three in a row from the 12th to the 14th and allowed Smriti Mehra not only to catch up but also move ahead to win her third title of the season.
Smriti, who began the day with a two-shot lead, returned a card of 75 — the same as Nalini — but won with a total of 226, as compared to Nalini’s 228.
Neha Tripathi (77) was a distant third with 234 tied with Saaniya Sharma (80). Vani Kapoor (77) ended fifth at 235, while Ankita Tiwana was sixth.
It was a see-saw battle between Smriti and Nalini in the final round with the Bengaluru-based golfer holding a two-shot lead. Playing together, both bogeyed the first hole, but Nalini closed the gap with a birdie on the second. A bogey by Smriti on the third meant the two were level.
The pair again bogeyed the fifth, but Smriti pulled ahead by one as she birdied the sixth and both birdied the ninth. On the back nine, Smriti fell back by one as she bogeyed the ninth and the tenth holes. But the clincher for the veteran was the 12th, which she birdied while Nalini bogeyed for a two-shot swing.
Thereafter Nalini lapsed into further errors with bogeys on the 13th and the 14th to allow Smriti move clear by three. She even had the luxury of a bogey on the 17th as Nalini failed to birdie any of the back nine leaving Smriti a winner by two shots.
This was the third title of the season for Smriti, while Nalini’s first win came last week.
The win also allowed Smriti to increase her lead at the top of the Order of Merit.
Interestingly, so difficult was the Golden Greens for the golfers that not a single one of them managed a sub-par round during the week.