Amandeep, Sneha, and Jasmine lead the charge in the first leg of 2025 WPGT

Jamshedpur, Jan 7 (IANS) Amandeep Drall, who finished second on the Women’s Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit 2024, is all set to lead the field in the opening event of the new season as the WPGT makes its first-ever stop at the Golmuri Golf Course here on Wednesday.

The new season gets off in Jamshedpur with 28 professionals, who will play for a purse of Rs. 12 lakh and there are also two amateurs, Anaahat Bindra and Saanvi Somu. Saanvi has in the past come close to winning on the HPWGT and she was runner-up in the ninth leg in 2024.

Amandeep and Sneha Singh, the 2023 HPWGT Order of Merit winner, who have conditional status in Category 16 on the Ladies European Tour for 2025, will be the leading contenders. The 2024 Order of Merit winner, Hitaashee Bakshi, who also earned a status on the LET, is skipping the first two legs.

Amandeep won once and finished runner-up twice last season in 14 starts while finishing second on the Merit List. After having missed out on playing on LET for most of 2024, she is looking at getting some valuable tournament play before heading to the LET this year. She is among the reserves for LET’s opening event in Morocco next month. Also among the reserves currently are Sneha Singh and Hitaashee Bakshi.

The field includes numerous winners from the 2024 season. Jasmine Shekar who won two of the last three legs in 2024, Sneha Singh (Leg 2 and Leg 4), Anvitha Narender (Leg 8), and Amandeep Drall (Leg 5). Other seasoned pros to watch out for include Neha Tripathi, Seher Atwal, Shweta Mansingh, and Khushi Khanijau.

The opening event sees two players making their pro debut. They are Lavanya Jadon, who while being an amateur was runner-up in the eighth leg last year. The other new pro is Jia Kochhar.

--IANS

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