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Last week's winner, Anvitha Narender, will skip the eighth leg of the Women's Pro Golf Tour at the Bengaluru Golf Club, but the field of 57 players, including 12 amateurs, is still very strong. The event, carrying a prize purse of Rs 17 lakh, will feature the 2025 Order of Merit winner Vani Kapoor, who lost the play-off in Mysuru last week, the experienced Tvesa Malik, Ridhima Dilawari, Amandeep Drall, Neha Tripathi, Vidhatri Urs and Seher Atwal. They will be among the front-runners this week. All of them have won in the past and are capable of taking the honours.
Vani Kapoor, who won five times in 2025, will start as a strong favourite, but a whole bunch of younger players are always a big threat. The next gen of players like Mannat Brar, Heena Kang and Jahanvi Bakshi are ready to spoil the party, and then there are a host of new professionals. Two of India's most promising amateurs, Zara Anand and Mahreen Bhatia, are also among the dozen playing this week. Last week saw Anvitha edge aside the star Vani Kapoor in the second play-off hole, while young amateur Ananyaa Sood performed very well in the early stages, as did Riya Jadon, who finished third. With a big bunch of Indian women professionals also featuring on the Ladies European Tour and the LET Access Tour, the bench strength in women's golf has improved manifold. A perfect blend of youth and experience has led to a strong field and good scores on the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour, which is now about two decades old and growing in strength each year. (ANI)
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