Jasmine Shekar produced a brilliant final round of 4-under 68 highlighted by a flawless back nine to push aside overnight leader Neha Tripathi in the ninth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour.
Related: Neha Tripathi shoots stunning 65 to take lead in Clover Greens
Neha, who led by three shots going into the final round, seemed on course to win her first title in two years till she ran into a troubled stretch between the 12th and the 16th as she dropped four shots in five holes and lost by three to Jasmine, who played in the same final group.
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The final nine made all the difference as Jasmine shot 3-under 31 on the back stretch, while Neha was 3-over 37. That six-hole difference saw Neha’s 3-shot advantage turn into a 3-shot deficit in the final analysis.
The crucial hole for Jasmine was the Par-4 12th. Coming to the 12th tee, Neha was still leading by three, but she bogeyed the hole and Jasmine birdied it. It was a two-shot swing, and the margin was suddenly just one in favour of Neha, who then went on to bogey three times in a row from the 14th. Jasmine meanwhile confidently birdied the closing 18th and emerged winner by three shots.
Jasmine became the fifth different winner this season as she totalled 9-under with two superb rounds of 67-68 on the last two days. Neha was 6-under 210.
As Jasmine and Neha took the first two places, Ridhima Dilawari shot the day’s best card of 5-under 67 and jumped to third place at 4-under 212.
Seher Atwal (69) was fourth at 3-under 213 and there were three players including Vani Kapoor, who won four of the first eight events, in tied fifth place.
Vani carded 70 and was tied fifth alongside Amandeep Drall (69) and Kriti Chowhan (72) at 2-under 214.
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Sneha Singh produced a third straight round of even par 72 and was eighth, while Lavanya Jadon (70) was ninth. Jahaanvie Walia (70), who had one of the two eagles on the final day, was Tied-10th with the top amateur Saanvi Somu (76).
Vani Kapoor continues to lead the Hero Order of Merit, while Amandeep Drall is second and Sneha Singh is third. Jasmine Shekar moved to the fourth place, Neha Tripathi was fifth and Ridhima Dilawari was sixth.
