Third leg of Hero WPGT Pranavi Urs, who has a win and a runner-up finish in the two starts in 2021, will start as a big favourite in the third leg at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club on Wednesday.
Pranavi, runner-up behind Ridhima Dilawari in the opening leg and then winner in the second leg last month, will lead a big field that includes LET winner Diksha Dagar, who plays her first event of 2021.
This is the third leg of the Hero WPGT Tour with a purse of Rs. 10 lakhs and the total field is 37, the highest ever in its history, indicating the growing strength of professional women golfers in India. It includes six amateurs.
Ridhima is also in the fray, as is Amandeep Drall, who still leads the combined 2020-21 Hero Order of Merit. Amandeep, who won the eighth leg of the 2020 season and then finished runner-up in the ninth and last leg of 2020, has seen a dip in form. She was ninth in both first and second legs of 2021 last month, so she will be hoping to get back to the form that has seen her get to the top of the Hero Order of Merit.
The Bakshi sisters, Hitaashee, who was second in the second leg, and Jahanvi will also put forward a strong claim, while seasoned Vani Kapoor, winless for a long time, and Amandeep Drall are also in the field.
Astha Madan, who played a few LET events last year, and past winners Gauri Karhade and Neha Tripathi also feature in the field.
Of the six amateurs in the field, namely Avani Prashanth, Khushi Hooda, Nayanika Sanga, Nishna Patel, Sneha Singh and Vidhatri Urs, Sneha has already tasted victory on the pro Tour while still an amateur.