Neha Tripathi, currently leading the order of merit in the women’s professional golf in the country, started the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour 2019 season with a five-shot win at the Poona golf course on Friday.
For this leading pro golfer, focus, personal nutrition and channelising aggression in the right way is the key to play a good round of golf.
Shivani Sadanand Singh caught up with the golfer, who likes to play aggressive, on the last day of the opening match of the season to understand her game plan.
Looking back at your game over the three days, what were some of the difficulties you faced on the Poona golf course?
For me, I feel that if I am not looking right or thinking straight, especially on a golf course like this, where it is narrow, I can always get into trouble off the tee. Fortunately, I just saw the wider part of the fairway every time and I kept looking at the positive signs and I really didn’t let anything bother me. I made sure that every time I got angry and did something stupid, I would channel it to make sure that the anger comes out in a good way on the golf course. I stayed aggressive today, so I was fine.
Your first round had a great start, but it didn’t end on a good note. What went wrong?
{{/usCountry}}Your first round had a great start, but it didn’t end on a good note. What went wrong?
{{/usCountry}}I am coming off from a month-long break and I just got here with four days of practice so I didn’t expect too much out of myself. I just wanted to play good golf. I felt that I didn’t play well on the last couple of holes on the first day and it had a lot to do with my nutrition and focus. I dropped those shots because I was not thinking well and I hadn’t eaten anything after the 13th hole and that’s not what I do generally, since I am always hydrated and make sure that towards the end, especially 15th, 16th hole, I am munching something, but there was just a lack of focus. Nutrition is really important for the game.
On the second day you charged ahead with a six-shot lead over others. Did you change your game plan after reviewing your first-day play?
The first five holes are the toughest ones, so once you get a good start, you pave the way for a good game and you need to follow it up in the back nine. I had played the first few holes well in the first round, considering that I had a really good start, I gained confidence that I can do well. I knew that I am a good ball striker and I can putt well, so I took this positivity into the second day. Also, I don’t think I hit the ball that good on the second day, but I was making all my putts and I just made sure that I didn’t get into too much of trouble. And if I was in trouble, I was coming out safely, I wasn’t trying too many stunts.
How did the course play?
The course played really well. The golf course is narrow, so it plays in your head especially on tee offs, but once you hit the fairway it is very easy to hit the green because the fairways are in really good condition. They are kind of wet in places, but we had preferred lie throughout the fairways. So, I felt that it played really well otherwise. The greens played good, they were holding, had varying speeds like some places it was slow while in other places it was fast, but in the end, it was just about adapting to it.
This was the opening match of the season, what is your aim for the year?
It is a good start to the season, I ended the season last year with a win in Kolkata, so it is good that I got this one. Also, it feels good to get this score over three days and start off my year. I would probably be moving to the United States around May-June because I am playing the Symetra Tour. So I am just preparing for that and this win gives me the confidence that things can really work for me out there and also gives me an outlook on the things that I need to work on.
An amateur made her debut on the pro circuit in this tournament. You played with her on the third day. Your views?
I think it is safe to say that the juniors and amateurs who are coming on the circuit are playing some really solid golf and I feel that the pro tour is going to grow and the way they are playing, it is going to get tougher and tougher.
Aggressive Neha cards a under par finish to win the first leg of Women’s Pro Golf Tour in Pune
Neha Tripathi produced a winning one-under par card to close the first leg of the opening event of the 2019 season of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour. Tripathi made up for her lapses in the closing stages of the first round where she carded a 74 after dropping three shots in the last three holes and four in the last five.
Tripathi managed an impressive eagle on the 12th and birdies on the 12th and 16th on Friday. The day was not off to a great start as she scored a double bogey on the 1st and bogies on the 6th and 7th. However, a par round on almost all holes helped her to keep her second-day score alive. She finished the game with a one-under-par score (74-66-72).
Her second-day blitz helped her gain a massive lead and from then now, there was no looking back for this golfer who is known for her aggressive style of play. On the second day, she started with five pars and then birdied 6th, 7th and 9th to turn in three-under. On the back, she birdied 12th and 14th but dropped a shot on 17th. She quickly made amends with a birdie on 18th to sign off with a 66.
The event also saw as many as six amateurs moving into the professional ranks. The most prominent of the newcomers is southpaw Diksha Dagar, who also secured rights on the Ladies European Tour in the Qualifying School in Morocco.
On day one, it was Dagar who opened her professional career in style with a one-under 70 that put her right on top at the Poona golf club. The left-hander, who had a stellar amateur career, which included appearances at most global amateur events and also at the Asian Games, took the plunge into pro ranks just this week.
In the mix also 15-year-old Pranavi Urs, though still an amateur, who recently retained her Faldo Series India title. Urs came in second in the tournament with a three-day score of four over par (73-74-70).
She played a one-under-par game on the final day of the event with a birdie on the 1st, 12th, 16th and 18th hole, finishing the game in style.
Dagar (70-76-73), who has in the past won a Hero WPGT event as an amateur, finished the event coming in third with a score of six-over par over three days.