Tavleen, Smriti share lead in Hero golf

Chandigarh's Tavleen Batra surprised many at the Lidder Valley Golf Course here Wednesday as she led the field along with veteran Smriti Mehra in the sixth leg of the Hero Women's Professional Golf Tour.

The Rs.7 lakh event saw Tavleen, an amateur who is playing her maiden event of the tour, displayed great temperament and skill in the first round to fire a three-under 68 to tie with Smriti.

Tavleen started her campaign with a bogey on the first and the 10th holes. However, she steadied quickly and displayed a good hold on her game, carding six birdies.

Smriti, who has had a mixed season so far and is currently placed second on the money list, played exceptionally, carding nine birdies. However, three bogeys and a triple bogey on the 11th spoilt her otherwise impressive card.

Order of Merit leader Vani Kapoor had a shaky start but made a remarkable comeback in the back nine has led her to trail the leaders by a single shot. Her front nine consisted of two bogeys and a birdie. She made a strong comeback with a bogey-free back nine along with three birdies, finishing her first round at two-under 69.

Delhi amateur golfer Mehar Atwal also had an impressive round as she finished fourth with a level par score that included three birdies and as many bogeys.

Chandigarh's Preetinder Kaur and Saaniya Sharma along with Kapurthala golfer Gursimran Badwal and Kolkata's Neha Tripathi were placed joint fifth with identical scores of 72.

Kolkata's Vandana Agarwal, with a score of two-over 73, was ninth and Bangalore's Nikki Ponappa (76) 10th after Round 1.