Apeksha David hits the front, opens up two-shot lead on opening day of Pune golf meet

Unheralded Apeksha David shot a gritty two-under 70 to hit the front on the opening day of the IGU Pune Ladies & Junior Girls Golf Championship at the Oxford Golf Resort in Pune on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old from Manipur, still searching for her maiden win on the IGU circuit, took a two-shot lead over her illustrious rivals. Karnataka’s Priya Kumari and Yogya Bhalla were tied for second after carding even-par 72s. Ojaswini Saraswat, Janneya A Dasanniee and Rehnoor Malik were a shot further back in fourth spot.

Apeksha, a 10^th-tee starter, drained a 25-foot putt for birdie on the 12^th, but the youngster struggled to come to grips with the speed of the greens. She three-putted for a bogey on the 13^th hole and dropped another shot on the 18^th to turn at one-over.

However, Apeksha made amends on her back nine. She hit her 9-iron third shot to four feet and made the putt for a birdie on the fourth. She holed a seven-foot putt on the fifth for another birdie. The promising teenager then sank a 10-footer on the closing hole for a 70.

In Category ‘C’ (11-12 years), Aaliyah Kalra and Ridhima Kapoor were tied for the lead with an identical 79s.

Leading scores (after 18 holes): Combined Ladies, Category ‘A’ & ‘B’: 70: Apeksha David (Mani); 72: Priya Kumari (Kar), Yogya Bhalla; 73: Ojaswini Saraswat (Raj), Janneya A Dasanniee (Guj), Rehnoor Malik (Del); 74: Anushkha Gupta (Del), Ayesha Gupta (Del), Alysha Dutt (Har), Keerthana Rajeev Kumar (Kar).

Category ‘C’ (11-12 years): 79: Aaliyah Kalra (Har), Ridhima Kapoor (Kar); 80: Vidushi Singh (UP); 82: Ahana Shah (Mah); 84: Amaira Gulati (Del).