Amateur Sneha holes an albatross, clinches title

Visakhapatnam: Amateur Sneha Singh played one of the best nine hole stretches in the history of the Hero Women’s pro golf Tour and clinched the title at the East Point golf club on Friday.

Trailing Jahanvi Bakshi

by two shots after the second round, Sneha slipped further after a bogey-bogey start.

Jahanvi

birdied the second and the lead swelled to five shots.Still, Sneha won by three shots, as she shot 7-under 29 on the back nine. The nine-hole run had four birdies and the first ever albatross on the Hero WPGT as Sneha holed her wedge shot from just over 120 yards. Sneha ended at 10-under 206, Jahanvi, four-time winner in 2021, was second at 7-under 209. Ridhima Dilawari (72) was third at 2-under 214. While Sneha took the trophy, Jahanvi picked up the winning cheque as the top professional.Jahanvi dropped shots on two par 5s and managed only two birdies on the home stretch. She ended with 71 for her third successive under par round. However, Sneha was in sizzling form after the turn. After birdies on 10th and 13th she holed her second shot on the Par-5 14h for an albatross which put her back in contention. Birdies on 15th and 17th sealed her first win of 2022 and her fourth on Hero WPGT while still an amateur. Sneha has now won at least one title each year since 2019.Hyderabad-based Sneha, who started playing at the Royal Calcutta golf club before she was four, is coached by her father Sanjay Kumar Singh, a Class A certified golf teaching professional and a former professional golfer on the men’s Indian Tour. Apart from her pro wins, she has won both the All India Juniors and the All India ladies amateur Championship.Final scores (after 54 holes): 206: Sneha Singh (A, 70, 70, 66); 209: Jahanvi Bakshi (68, 70, 71); 214: Ridhima Dilawari (69, 73, 72); 216: Gaurika Bishnoi (76, 68, 72); 217: Rhea Purvi (72, 69, 76); 218: Seher Atwal (72, 73, 73).