Vani aims for fifth title at Noida Golf Course

Noida: Delhi youngster Vani Kapoor will draw inspiration from her stellar domestic form and look to return to winning ways at the 17th leg of the Hero Women's Professional Golf Tour 2015 which begins at the picturesque Noida Golf Course here.

The Rs 5,00,000 event will feature 13 professionals and lone amateur Tavleen Batra vying for top honours.

Vani, who is currently leading the Hero Order of Merit with total earnings of Rs 15,56,400, has posted four wins in 16 appearances this season. While she leads the order of merit, her last win came at the Eagleton in the 10th Leg of the HWPGT 2015. A win here will stretch her unassailable lead at the top of the leaderboard.

Vani, who finished as the best Indian professional at the recently concluded Hero Women's Indian Open 2015 last month, will however face a strong challenge from Amandeep Drall.

The Punchkula rookie, who is currently occupying the second place in the order of merit has registered two wins from 16 appearances and is the outright favourite to win the Rookie of the Year award. She has been one of the most consistent players this year and will push Vani to the hilt to secure her third win this season.

Kolkata's Neha Tripathi, sitting third in the money list, will be eager to register her first win this year. Neha, who has been guilty of letting potentially winning situations slip away, will look to break the jinx and end her title drought.

Kolkata's Smriti Mehra is currently on the fourth position. She has two wins in her kitty and will be aiming for a top finish in the penultimate event of the season.

Kapurthala's Gursimar Badwal, occupying the fifth position, will also be hoping for her first professional title.

This event will also mark the return of English player Kiran Matharu after a gap of five months. She has already won twice this season.

Other players to watch out for will be Chandigarh's Saaniya Sharma, Pune's Shweta Galande and the Delhi trio of Mehar Atwal, Gauri Monga and Ankita Tiwana.

Hero Motocorp sponsored Sharmila Nicollet is the notable absentee from the event.