Amandeep Drall and Gaurika Bishnoi shared the lead despite contrasting first rounds in the 6th Leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour at the Classic Golf and Country Club.
While Amandeep dropped two shots on the front nine but played a bogey-free 4-under on the back stretch, Gaurika had five birdies but suffered a double bogey on the back nine apart from a bogey earlier in the front half. They both shot 2-under 70 each and held a one-shot lead over four players bunched together in third place.
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Two experienced stars, Tvesa Malik and Vani Kapoor, using these events to get some tournament practice, shot 1-under 71 along with rookie Kriti Chowhan and Hitaashee Bakshi, who is coming back from an injury.
Amandeep, who has one domestic win this year, bogeyed fifth and seventh and turned in a disappointing two-over. The momentum changed on the back nine as she birdied 11th and 13th and closed with birdies on the last two holes.
Gaurika twice had back-to-back birdies, once on each side of the course. She bogeyed eighth and then double bogeyed the Par-5 14th before picking a birdie on the Par-3 17th.
Tvesa had three birdies against two bogeys while Vani had two birdies and one bogey.
Agrima Manral was sole seventh with an even par 72, while Asmitha Sathish and Rhea Jha carded 73 each to be tied eighth.
