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Unheralded Apeksha David shot a gritty two-under 70 to hit the front on the opening day of the IGU Pune Ladies and Junior Girls Golf Championship at the Oxford Golf Resort.
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 10th-tee starter, drained a 25-foot putt for birdie on the 12th, but the youngster struggled to come to grips with the speed of the greens. She three-putted for a bogey on the 13th hole and dropped another shot on the 18th 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' and Category 'B': 70: Apeksha David (Manipur); 72: Priya Kumari (Kar), Yogya Bhalla; 73: Ojaswini Saraswat (Rajasthan), Janneya A Dasanniee (Gujarat), Rehnoor Malik (Delhi); 74: Anushkha Gupta (Delhi), Ayesha Gupta (Delhi), Alysha Dutt (Haryana), Keerthana Rajeev Kumar (Karnataka). Category 'C' (11-12 years): 79: Aaliyah Kalra (Haryana), Ridhima Kapoor (Karnataka); 80: Vidushi Singh (UP); 82: Ahana Shah (Maharashtra); 84: Amaira Gulati (Delhi). (ANI)
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