Ahmedabad, Jan 20 (IANS) Vani Kapoor will make her first start this week in the second leg of the Women’s Pro Golf Tour (WPG) Tour at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on Tuesday. After missing the season-opener, Vani, who won five times last year while topping the WPG Order of Merit, will feature in the event alongside some of the other leading names.
The field this week includes last week’s winner Jasmine Shekar, runner-up Ridhima Dilawari, Amandeep Drall, Sneha Singh, Heena Kang, Seher Atwal, Vidhatri Urs, and the newly minted pro, Saanvi Somu.
While Jasmine will seek another title, Ridhima, who came close to winning last week, will look to make amends. Amandeep Drall is trying to gather enough momentum to reclaim the form she needs to get back to the Ladies European Tour.
Saanvi, who has multiple runner-up finishes as an amateur, is seeking her maiden success on the Hero WPG Tour.
The 40-player field also includes seven amateurs, the most experienced being Zara Anand and Mahreen Bhatia, who have shown tremendous potential. Both are likely headed to US College golf later this year.
Mahreen won the 15th and final leg of 2025 in NOIDA at the Jaypee Wishtown course, beating top star Vani Kapoor on the way. Zara Anand twice came close to winning but finished runner-up at Bangalore Golf Club, Bengaluru, and DLF GCC, Gurugram.
Last week’s winner, Jasmine, goes out in the first pairing, which is a two-ball, while Vani Kapoor plays with Ravjot Dosanjh and Vidhatri Urs. Amandeep Drall and Ridhima Dilawari will play in the final group.
Jasmine had got off to a flying start in the new season as she won the opening leg of the Women’s Pro Golf Tour 2026 at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club. The 20-year-old Bengaluru golfer completed a wire-to-wire win as she compiled the week’s best card of 5-under 65, which was bogey-free.
With rounds of 67-70-65 she totalled 8-under 202 and won by four shots over Ridhima Dilawari (67). Jasmine held a one-shot lead after Day One, extended it to two after two rounds, and further doubled it to four by the end of the event. Jasmine was the only player to card par or better on each of the three days at the Par-70 course.
Jasmine picked up the winner’s cheque of Rs. 2.30 lakh from a total purse of Rs. 17. Ridhima earned Rs. 1.70 lakh, while the third-placed Lavanya Jadon took home Rs.1.40 lakh.
It was Jasmine’s fourth win on the WPG Tour since turning pro in 2023. She won twice in 2024 and once in 2025 and has now opened the 2026 season with a convincing win. The win also showed Jasmine’s consistent progress since becoming a pro. She finished sixth on the Order of Merit in her rookie year in 2023, was fifth in 2024, and third last year.
–IANS
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