Gursimar Badwal produced a final-round of two-under 70 to win by a stroke in the fifth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the Jaypee Greens here on Friday.
The 24-year-old Kapurthala golfer, who earlier won the third leg at Poona Club Golf Course, became the first multiple winner of the season and also moved to the top of the Hero Order of Merit.
The winner, Gursimar, played flawless golf and had three birdies against no bogeys when she arrived on the 18th tee. She bogeyed the 18th as overnight leader Neha Tripathi, playing behind her, birdied the 17th. That meant Neha needed a birdie on the closing hole to force a play-off. However, she managed only a par and was left stranded in second place.
Gursimar, who started the final day in fifth place and three shots behind Neha (74), totaled even-par 216 for 54 holes and won by one shot despite a closing bogey on 18th.
This was Neha’s third runner-up finish in the 5 events played so far, with Gursimar edging her out on two occasions.
The pleasant surprise of the week was amateur Tanirika Singh, who put up a consistent show. Her final round of 74 earned her a sole third spot ahead of many established players.
Saaniya Sharma (76) and Afshan Fatima (76) shared the fourth spot on 220 total.
Tvesa Malik had three birdies against five bogeys in her 74 and finished sixth at five-over 221. Anisha Padukone (80) was undone by two holes — a double on Par-5 13th and a quadruple bogey on Par-4 18th. Those six dropped shots saw her finish at 80 on the day and she was seventh for the event.
Siddhi Kapoor (78) was eighth, while Smriti Mehra (74) and Suchitra Ramesh (77) were tied ninth.