Vani’s closing birdie hat-trick seals her fifth Rambagh title

Vani Kapoor receives the check from Rambagh Golf Club captain Yogendra Singh in Jaipur on Thursday. Image courtesy of WGAI.

By Rahul Banerji

Vani Kapoor produced three birdies in the last three holes to leapfrog Jasmine Shekar and win the Rambagh Golf Club leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour in Jaipur on Thursday.

Vani’s birdie burst gave her a round of 2-under par 68 for the third day in a row and a three-day total of 6-under 204, according to the WGAI.

Jasmine Shekar (68) fell one stroke short at 5 under 205 despite closing with a birdie.

It was Vani’s fifth win of the season and maintains her lead at the top of the Hero Order of Merit.

Sneha Singh (69) was third at 2-under 208, while Amandeep Drall (70) was fourth at level par 210.

Vani put a stroke ahead of the field but lost her lead on the very first hole when Jasmine opened with a birdie on Thursday, only to fall back again when she dropped a shot on hole two.

With Vani dropping back-to-back bogeys on holes three and four, Jasmine was back on par despite a second bogey of her own.

Constant struggle

The battle continued as Vani birdied the sixth, but Jasmine overtook him again with a birdie on nine.

On the back nine, Jasmine made an early birdie to take the lead, while Vani’s run of pars continued from seven to 15.

Approaching the final three holes, Jasmine still had a one lead, but Vani’s birdie run against a lone gain for Jasmine proved decisive.

Amateur Riya Jadon (67) produced a solid final round to climb to fifth place with 1 in 211.

Seher Atwal (66) with a run of five birdies in a seven-hole stretch around the turn, tied for sixth at 2 over 212.

Smriti Bhargava (69) was eighth and Khushi Khanijau (70), Jahanvi Bakshi (73) and Ridhima Dilawari (75) were T9 at 4 over 214.

With five wins from her eleven starts, Vani leads the Order of Merit, while Amandeep Drall is second, Jasmine Shekar third, Sneha Singh fourth and Ridhima Dilawari fifth going into the final event of the season.

Also read: Vani takes a one-stroke lead in the final lap on the Rambagh course

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