Ankita shares lead with Vani Kapoor

 Local amateur Ankita Kedlaya shared a surprise pole position with title favourite Vani Kapoor after the opening round of the seventh leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour here on Wednesday.

The duo made the best of the benign conditions on offer, shooting a fine two-under 70 to take a slender one-shot lead over pro debutant Shweta Galande at the Eagleton Golf Resort.

Order of Merit leader Neha Tripathi, gunning for a hat-trick, carded a topsy-turvy 72 to occupy the fourth spot while veteran Smriti Mehra just failed to get a measure of the things, opening her campaign with a disappointing 76.

The 15-year-old Ankita, who alternates between the Karnataka Golf Association and Clover Greens, impressed everyone with her short game, totalling just 25 putts to share the lead.

She kick-started her round with a five-foot birdie on the par-5 first before parring the next eight holes to take the turn at a decent one-under. She picked up her second shot of the day on the par-4 11th but three-putted from 20 feet to drop a bogey on the 15th. Ankita, however, made amends quickly, birdieing the 16th to hit the front.

Vani, who triumphed three times last season but is still searching for her maiden victory this season, dished out a solid show. She sunk a birdie on the opening hole, bogeyed the sixth and then birdied the eighth to make the turn at 35. She then birdied the 10th before finding herself in trouble on the 14th and 17th where she showed her steely stuff, parring them nicely to give herself a good boost.

Leading scores (after 18 holes, ‘A’ denotes amateur): 70: Ankita Kedlaya, Vani Kapoor; 71: Shweta Galande; 72: Neha Tripathi; 74: Ankita Tiwana; 75: Nikki Ponappa, Rani Sonti; 76: Saaniya Sharma, Smriti Mehra.