Hitaashee Bakshi, the leader on the Hero Order of Merit, roared back into form with a 2-under 70 to take a 2-shot lead at the end of the first round of the 10th Leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the Prestige Golfshire.
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Hitaashee, who has been dividing time between International and domestic events, had six birdies, but also gave away a double bogey and two late bogeys in the round.
Hitaashee leads two other experienced stars, Amandeep Drall (72) and Neha Tripathi (73) as they form the lead trio.
Four players including the talented amateur Mannat Brar, Khushi Khanijau, Anisha Agarwalla and Jasmine Shekar are tied for the fourth place with cards of 2-over 74 each.
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The winner of the ninth leg Vidhatri Urs (75), whose round had only three bogeys and no birdies, shared the eighth spot with Kriti Chowhan, while Rhea Jha, Astha Madan and amateur Keerthana Rajeev shared the tenth place with 4-over 76 each.
Hitaashee, who was third recently at Singapore Ladies Masters, had five birdies on the front nine and then one more on the 18th.
Hitaashee opened the round with a birdie and added three more from the fifth to the seventh holes. She dropped a double bogey on the eighth and then picked a shot back on the ninth. She turned in 3-under 33.
On the back nine, she bogeyed the 16th and the 17th but birdied the 18th.
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Amandeep, who does have a win this year, has not been able to maintain consistent form. She had three birdies against three bogeys, while Neha, making a return from a back injury, had six birdies, showing signs of a good recovery. However, she also dropped two doubles and three bogeys to card 1-over 73.
Last year’s Order of Merit winner, Sneha Singh was tied for 13th place with Gauri Karhade, Agrima Manral and Ananya Garg at 77.
