Vani Kapoor put herself in pole position to end India’s decade-long wait for a home winner at the Hero Women’s Indian Open as she took a slender one-shot lead on the penultimate day of the USD 500,000 Ladies European Tour event on Saturday. The 32-year-old carded a three-under 69 for a five-under total of 211 at the DLF Golf and Country Club, staying one shot ahead of defending champion Shannon Tan of Singapore (68-77-67) and Thailand’s three-time winner Pornanong Phatlum (72-71-69). Aditi Ashok was the last Indian to win the title a decade ago in 2016.
“I’m pretty stable and didn’t get too excited. It is something I was careful of. Defending champion Shannon produced five birdies in six holes on the front nine.
“They will keep reminding me that 18 holes are left, and there is work to be done, and that will help,” she said. “The body is still recovering, and I know it is going to be a grind out there again tomorrow,” said Pranavi. That’s the plan with one more day to go,” she said. “When you’re playing well on this course, you can actually go quite low,” she said.
