Golf: Confident Vani Kapoor looks at back-to-back wins on Hero WPG Tour

Armed with the confidence of a long-awaited win last week, Vani Kapoor returns for the sixth leg of the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour this week at ITC's Classic Golf & Country Club. Vani is one of the 26 players, including two amateurs, teeing up at the course which hosted two Asian Tour events late last year.

Vani, who went winless in 2019 and won only once in the first event of 2018, seems to be finding her game once again and it has showed in the last few starts. Vani was runner-up in the fourth leg and won the fifth, while she was T-4 in the first leg and fifth in the third leg. She did not play in the second leg. Four players have won the five events held this season so far, with the only multiple winner being rookie Pranavi Urs.

Her first win came in her last event as an amateur and in the very next event she won on her debut as a professional. The other winners this season have been Ridhima Dilawari (first leg), Amandeep Drall (fourth leg) and Vani Kapoor (fifth leg). Pranavi won the second and third legs. Pranavi has been most consistent this season with two wins and two runner-up finishes and only once has been out of the Top-2, which was T-11 in the fourth leg. However, she will need to tighten up her game in the closing stages, if she has to convert her excellent showing into more wins.

Amandeep Drall, third in the first leg, was runner-up to the then amateur Pranavi in the third leg. She won the fourth leg and was runner-up in the fifth. That means she has been in the Top-5 in each of her four starts so far. The showing has also given her the top spot on the Hero Women’s Tour Order of Merit.

Ridhima Dilawari, who won the first leg, has played only once since which was last week, when she finished T-7. Gaurika Bishnoi and Gursimar Badwal are yet to hit form this season, while Ananya Datar, runner-up in the second leg, will miss this event due to her final year college exams. Oviya Reddi, who has shown good form this season, will be looking for her maiden win.