Golfer Amandeep eyes third title at Jaypee Greens

Upbeat from two wins in the last three outings, rookie Amandeep Drall will start as a clear favourite in the 15th Leg of the Hero Women's Professional Golf Tour to be played at the Jaypee Greens here from September 2 to 4.

The Rs.6 lakh event will see an elite field of 17 professionals and three amateurs.

Amandeep, currently occupying second spot on the Order of Merit with total earnings of Rs.10,59,935, has been in good form throughout the season and has posted two wins and three runners-up finishes in 14 appearances. The Panchkula girl will be keen to sustain her winning run and add one more title to her tally to reduce the gap at the top of the money list.

However, she will face a strong challenge from Delhi's Vani Kapoor, currently leading the Order of Merit list with earnings of Rs.14,35,200 from 14 appearances.

The Delhi youngster with four wins and six runners-up finishes has been in stellar form this season. However, her last win came in July and she will be eager for a swing in fortune to consolidate her spot at the top of the leaderboard.

Kolkata Neha's Tripathi with earnings of Rs.9,47,766 from 14 appearances will also start as one of the contenders. She is yet to win a tournament this year and will look to end her dry patch here.

Kolkata's Smriti Mehra, currently occupying fourth spot with total earnings of Rs.7,26,900 has posted two wins from 10 appearances and will be another golfer to watch out for.

Sharmila Nicollet, who is still searching for her first victory this season, will seek to put an end to her barren run.

Others golfers to look out for will be Kapurthala's Gursimar Badwal, Chandigarh's Saaniya Sharma and the Delhi trio of Gauri Monga, Ankita Tiwana and Mehar Atwal. Diksha Dagar, Anisha Padukone and Tvesha Malik are the amateurs in the fray.

The par 72 course, which is located on the outskirts of New Delhi, is the only Greg Norman-designed course in India and is set to pose a tough challenge. The tour comprises 19 legs spanning across India.