Tvesa eyeing to consolidate position as Leg 16 of Hero WPGT starts

Tvesa Malik would look to consolidate her handy lead of over Rs 3,53,000 as the first of the last three legs of the 2018 Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour begins here on Wednesday.

With 15 legs having been held before the Hero Women's Indian Open, it is now back to domestic action with two legs this month and the last in December.

Tvesa, who had a fine outing at the WGAI-LET sanctioned Women's Indian Open, finished tied 13th and the joint best Indian alongside Gaurika Bishnoi, who is skipping the event this week.

Tvesa already has three wins and is looking at increasing her tally.

Ridhima Dilawari too will be looking for a good showing. She was tied 20th at the Indian Open.

Ridhima, who played for India at the Asian Games, is in her rookie year and has played just one event as a professional before the National Open. She led in that for two rounds before dropping down.

Amandeep Drall, who also has three wins, but is way behind Tvesa in the Order of Merit, will be looking to narrow the gap and make a dash for honours, even though the odds are against her with just three events left.

Neha Tripathi, Afshan Fatima and Gursimar Badwal, who have also won this year, are looking at finishing the year on a good note, while the field also includes Smriti Mehra, who is looking for her first win this season after nine starts earlier.

Saaniya Sharma makes a comeback after being out due to an injury.

In the first round, Afshan Fatima and Amandeep Drall will tee off in the first two-ball, followed by Khushi Khanijau and Tvesa in the second pairing.

Neha, Gursimar and Ridhima will play together in the third group, while Millie Saroha, Komal Chaudhary and Mehar Atwal will constitute the fourth. The final group will see Smriti, Siddhi Kapoor and Saaniya.