<p>Talented teenager Vani Kapoor set herself up for a perfect professional debut gift with a sizzling display in the penultimate round of the Hero-KGA Women’s Pro Golf tournament here on Thursday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>On a day when rest of the field struggled thanks to the demanding pin positions, the 18-year-old Delhiite hardly appeared troubled, carding a brilliant four-under 68 for a two-day total of 143 to open up a commanding four-shot lead at the Karnataka Golf Association.<br /><br />Overnight leader Sharmila Nicollet, whose putting woes came back to haunt her again in a round of missed chances, slipped to second with a disappointing four-over 76 while last season’s Order of Merit winner Smriti Mehra bounced back into contention with the day’s second best card, a fine 71 that lifted her to third spot at 148.<br /><br />After succumbing to a bout of nerves in the opening round on Wednesday when her first professional shot landed in the water, Vani was a picture of confidence on Thursday. With everything working according to her plans, Vani, who won a pro title last season as an amateur, made the best of her good form to race away from the pack.<br /><br />Hitting the ball beautifully and matching it with some fine play on the greens, Vani holed out her first birdie of the day on the par-4 sixth with a brilliant 15-footer putt. She then made the turn at two-under following a neat 8-foot birdie on the ninth before dropping her first shot of the day on the 10th, two-putting from four feet.<br /><br />She, however, was back to her best again, holing out birdies on the 13th, 15th and 16th holes, all set up by some wonderful hitting.<br /><br />Things though didn’t go too well for home favourite Sharmila. While her hitting was decent for the better part of the day, her poor putting cost her dear. On a clutch of occasions, the Ladies European Tour card holder squandered regulation putts -- some for birdies and some for pars. She opened with a double bogey on the first hole and things just kept falling apart from thereon for the 21-year-old, who also found four more bogeys. The two birdies -- fifth and eighth -- reduced the damage somewhat.<br /><br />Leading scores (after 36 holes, ‘A’ denotes amateur): 143: Vani Kapoor (75, 68); 147: Sharmila Nicollet (71, 76); 148: Smriti Mehra (77, 71); 150: Nalini Singh Siwach (74, 76); 151: Neha Tripathi (73, 78); 152: Saaniya Sharma (73, 79), Aditi Ashok (74, 78); 153: Shraddhanjali Singh (78, 75); 157: Nikki Ponappa (81, 76).<br /></p>
<p>Talented teenager Vani Kapoor set herself up for a perfect professional debut gift with a sizzling display in the penultimate round of the Hero-KGA Women’s Pro Golf tournament here on Thursday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>On a day when rest of the field struggled thanks to the demanding pin positions, the 18-year-old Delhiite hardly appeared troubled, carding a brilliant four-under 68 for a two-day total of 143 to open up a commanding four-shot lead at the Karnataka Golf Association.<br /><br />Overnight leader Sharmila Nicollet, whose putting woes came back to haunt her again in a round of missed chances, slipped to second with a disappointing four-over 76 while last season’s Order of Merit winner Smriti Mehra bounced back into contention with the day’s second best card, a fine 71 that lifted her to third spot at 148.<br /><br />After succumbing to a bout of nerves in the opening round on Wednesday when her first professional shot landed in the water, Vani was a picture of confidence on Thursday. With everything working according to her plans, Vani, who won a pro title last season as an amateur, made the best of her good form to race away from the pack.<br /><br />Hitting the ball beautifully and matching it with some fine play on the greens, Vani holed out her first birdie of the day on the par-4 sixth with a brilliant 15-footer putt. She then made the turn at two-under following a neat 8-foot birdie on the ninth before dropping her first shot of the day on the 10th, two-putting from four feet.<br /><br />She, however, was back to her best again, holing out birdies on the 13th, 15th and 16th holes, all set up by some wonderful hitting.<br /><br />Things though didn’t go too well for home favourite Sharmila. While her hitting was decent for the better part of the day, her poor putting cost her dear. On a clutch of occasions, the Ladies European Tour card holder squandered regulation putts -- some for birdies and some for pars. She opened with a double bogey on the first hole and things just kept falling apart from thereon for the 21-year-old, who also found four more bogeys. The two birdies -- fifth and eighth -- reduced the damage somewhat.<br /><br />Leading scores (after 36 holes, ‘A’ denotes amateur): 143: Vani Kapoor (75, 68); 147: Sharmila Nicollet (71, 76); 148: Smriti Mehra (77, 71); 150: Nalini Singh Siwach (74, 76); 151: Neha Tripathi (73, 78); 152: Saaniya Sharma (73, 79), Aditi Ashok (74, 78); 153: Shraddhanjali Singh (78, 75); 157: Nikki Ponappa (81, 76).<br /></p>
