Bangalore, Sep 7 (IANS) Vani Kapoor, the 18-year old from Delhi, jumped to the top of the Hero-WGAI order of merit list after winning her maiden pro golf title at the Prestige Golfshire course here.
Vani, runner-up in her maiden appearance, was tied fifth in the second round and followed it up with a convincing win Thursday in only her third appearance as a professional.
Vani thus moved up the Order of Merit past Sharmila Nicollet, winner of the first round. Vani holds a lead of just over Rs. 6,000 over Sharmila, who skipped the event this week to play on the Ladies European Tour in Austria.
Vani has won Rs. 3,53,750 in the three starts to Sharmila’s Rs. 3,47,500 and Smriti Mehra, winner of second leg, is third at Rs. 2,90,000. Nalini Singh Siwach and Neha Trripathi are fourth and fifth.
Vani, who won a pro event last year while still being an amateur, had two sub-par rounds in the third leg at the challenging Prestige Golfshire course where none of the other ladies managed a sub-par round. She won by a massive eight-shot margin and all doubts of her losing a four-shot lead in first leg disappeared with this fine performance.
