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Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour 2020: Dilawari’s new season off to a Par-fect start; wins first title in Pune
Visiting the city course after a period of six years, this was Dilawari’s first tournament as a professional golfer in Pune
Pune An enthralling encounter that went down to the wire on the final day of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour 2020 first leg saw Ridhima Dilawari earn a hard-fought victory over fellow competitors Pranavi Urs and Amandeep Drall at the Poona Club Golf Course on Friday. Dilawari had finished day two of the tournament at the top of the scorecard with a two-shot advantage and took the lead in the initial phase of the match on day three. However, amateur golfer Urs fought back after the midway point of the match, but a horrendous double bogey on the eighteenth ensured Dilawari’s victory by just one stroke.
Visiting the city course after a period of six years, this was Dilawari’s first tournament as a professional golfer in Pune. The 19-year-old turned professional in 2017, but did not get a chance to partake in the previous editions of the tournament in the city. Dilawari, who hails from Delhi, is certainly off to a perfect start of the new season after finishing last season with five tournament wins out of twelve. The teenager has now turned her attention to the internationals as she flies to China on Saturday to play in the China Tour.
Unexpected gusts of wind on a breezy day in the city made the course more challenging for the golfers with many struggling to find the fairways from the tee-shot. Despite winning the tournament by the narrowest of margins, Dilawari finished with a final score of three-over 71 as none of the golfers failed to finish the course with a score under-par. The 19-year-old recorded her lowest score of the tournament on day three and won the first leg after Urs went three-over-par at the final hole.
A birdie in the first provided a major boost for the 19-year-old, as both her competitors finished at par. A bogey for Drall on the third pushed her down to the bottom of the card early on in the match. Dilawari bagged another birdie on the fourth, while Urs faltered and ended with a bogey on the fifth, giving Dilawari a 3-shot cushion. The deficit was down to two on the sixth when Dilawari finished with a bogey for the first time in the match.
On the seventh, Drall fell further behind as she went two-over-par and finished with a double bogey. Towards the midway point of the match, Urs finished with her first birdie of the day on the ninth as Dilawari maintained a one-shot lead over the amateur and a comfortable four-shot lead over Drall. After registering her first birdie on the ninth, Urs went on to finish with birdies on the tenth and eleventh as she took the lead after the Dilawari went one-over-par on the eleventh. Drall also finished with a bogey as she was being left in the dust.
Urs failed to build momentum and scuppered her chance to extend the lead on the thirteenth. The amateur golfer and Drall, both, went one-over-par. Urs finally managed to extend her lead on the fifteenth where she finished with another birdie, while Dilawari went one-over-par. The 19-year-old finished with a second successive bogey on the sixteenth along with Drall after both the golfers drove their shots into the bunker straight from the tee box.
While Drall and Dilawari went one-over-par due to the bunker, Urs managed to land her ball straight onto the green. The amateur golfer had a golden opportunity to finish with a birdie, but she missed an easy putt from a close range and eventually finished with a par. As the winds grew stronger on the seventeenth, Dilawari and Urs finished with bogies, while Drall was at par. However, Drall was rooted to the bottom of the card and had no chance of making a comeback. The tables turned on the eighteenth and final hole where the wind played a crucial role.
Dilawari’s tee shot was exquisite and she was able to find the fairway with ease. However, Drall and Urs could not use the wind to their advantage as both their shots landed in the rough. While Drall only had to worry about the tree line, Urs found herself in a very tight spot, off the grass and in a dry, dusty part of the eighteenth. At the cost of an extra stroke, Urs finally managed to land her shot on the green.
By the time Urs managed to get to the green, she was already at par. As Dilawari and Drall finished the final hole with a par, Urs squandered her lead and the chance to win another professional title after going three-over-par to finish with a dismaying double bogey. The amateur golfer finished ahead of Dilawari on day three, but lost the title by one shot after finishing the tournament with a score of 216.
With the win, Dilawari took the early lead on the Hero Order of Merit with Rs 1,40,000, while Drall took Rs 1,00,000. Urs, the runner-up, is still an amateur. Diksha Dagar (72) and Vani Kapoor (74), who were tied fourth, received Rs 81,000 each. The second leg of the tour will be held at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club in Mumbai from January 15.
“I wish I could have shot a better round because this was my worst round of the week. My ball got plugged in the bunker and I ended with a few bogies. I am happy with a win, but it would have been more satisfying had I put in a better performance.”
- Ridhima Dilawari, winner, Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour 2020 first leg
