Ahmedabad: Having won four times in 14 appearances last year, Amandeep Drall will be keen to continue her form in 2017 and will start as the favourite in the first leg of the Hero Women's Professional Golf Tour to be played at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens here from Wednesday.
Panchkula's Amandeep finished second in the Hero Order of Merit in 2016 with total earnings of Rs.11,75,534. She will be eager to grab a win in the very first event and open up an early lead.
The Rs. 6,00,000 event which features 11 professionals and lone amateur Sifat Alag will end on Friday.
Amandeep will face stiff competition from Kolkata's Neha Tripathi and Kapurthala's Gursimar Badwal, who finished third and fourth respectively in the Hero Order of Merit last year.
Neha, with two wins, and Gursimar, with one, will be keen to better their performance and start the season with a win.
A notable absentee in the first leg is Delhi's Vani Kapoor, who won seven titles in 13 appearances last year, with total earnings of Rs. 12,55,150.
Trisha Sunil, who emerged as the Rookie of the Year in 2016 with total earnings of Rs. 2,44,150 is expected to give Amandeep, Neha and Gursimar a run for their money.
Others to look out for are Chandigarh's Saaniya Sharma and Kolkata's Smriti Mehra. The first leg will also see Delhi's Sifat Alag make her debut on the Tour as an amateur.
