Jakarta, October 18 - Smriti Mehra showed why she has long been the flag bearer of Indian women’s golf by charging to the top of the leaderboard on the opening day of the US$200,000 Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open.
Mehra shot a three-under-par 69 at Palm Hill Golf Club in the ninth leg on this year’s Ladies Asian Golf Tour (LAGT).
Thailand’s Thidapa Suwannapura, Patcharachuta Kongkapan, Malaysian amateur Kelly Tan, Walailak Satarak from the United States, and Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Yu-ling all shot 71 to tie for second place.
Amateur Inez Putri, the 2012 Miss Indonesia winner taking time out from her busy schedule, shot a respectable 79 and is in a tie for 55th position.
Mehra, aged 40, made three birdies in a row from the second to seize the lead. Another birdie on 11 moved her to four under before she made her only bogey of the day on the following hole.
Said Mehra: “I hit the ball the same on both nines but the putts seemed to drop on the front. I kept it steady and slow and got it done.”
The Indian, a powerful hitter, has spent much of her career playing on the US LPGA Tour and has also triumphed twice on the Futures Tour in the States.
“I have been several times to Indonesia and I love it here. I love playing in Southeast Asian countries. I have always supported Asian golf. I played on the LPGA Tour for about 12 years but I now play on the Ladies European Tour and I always come back to play in Asia,” said Mehra.
She won the Women’s Malaysian Open in 2002 and after a good start this week she is well placed to secure another title in the region.
Mehra was in the first group out and was paired with 13-year-old amateur Julia Alhemoud from Kuwait, who returned a 94.
“I am sure she had a good time but she was upset with the way she played. She walked off saying it was the worst round but I said it doesn’t matter as you are 13 years old and I am 40 so you know you have 27 years on me,” said Mehra.
When asked why women’s golf in India has not developed as rapidly as the men’s game she commented: “We started a women’s pro organization in 2005 and I was the only professional then. Today we have 20 which is not bad. We only had about eight amateurs then but we have about 500 today.”
Of the players hot on her heels in second place Thidapa could be one to watch.
The 19-year-old recently secured her US LPGA Tour card and finished third last week in the South Taiwan Open on the LAGT.
Thidapa burst through into the professional game last year by winning the ladies title at the Singha Pattaya Open, her first victory as a member of the paid ranks.
Last month she won the Vidalia Championship in Georgia. The event is part of the Symetra Tour which sees the top-10 players at the end of the season earn their cards for the US LPGA Tour. The US$16,500 she received for winning moved her to fourth on the money list and that is how she finished the year to pave the way for an exciting 2013.
There was huge pressure on Putri, a top amateur, as she was paired with Australian star Stacey Keating – fresh from back-to-back titles on the Ladies European Tour.
The other player in their group Nontaya Srisawang from Thailand, who claimed the Ladies Thailand Open in February, did not start as she was laid low by a fever.
Putri showed the kind of calmness that carried her to victory in Miss Indonesia in April and finished only three shots behind Keating.
The 23-year-old from Bali made one birdie and eight bogeys.
She said: “I haven’t played much golf in five months so I am happy with my score. It was very warm and the golf course is very tight with small fast greens so it is not easy. I hope to improve on my score each round.”
The Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open features 84 players. The tournament is played over 54 holes with no cut being made.
It is the most lucrative women’s national Open in South East Asia with the winner earning a cheque for US$30,000.
Leading first round scores, Par 72, (a) denotes amateur:
69 – Smriti Mehra (IND)
71 – Patcharachuta Kongkapan (THA), Kelly Tan (MAS) (a), Walailak Satarak (THA), Thidapa Suwannapura (THA), Hsieh Yu-ling (TWN)
72 – Jarupron Palakawong (THA), Dottie Ardina (PHI) (a), Tseng Hsiu-feng (TPE)
73 – Wannasari Sirisampant (THA), Aretha Pan (MAS) (a), Kurika Jang (THA), Sahra Hassan (WAL), Rodriguez Cyna (PHI) (a), Tang Thi Nhung (VNM), Russamee Gulyanamitta (THA), Samantha Richdale (CAN), Kusuma Meechai (THA)
74 – Connie Chen (RSA), Yoshee Yoshida (JPN), Chu Yu-an (TPE), Lim In-hong (KOR), Ornthana Chuenarraom (THA), Titiya Plucksataporn (THA), Numa Gulyanamitta (THA)
Selected:
76 – Stacey Keating (AUS), Rebecca Hudson (ENG)
79 – Inez Putri (INA) (a), Lidya Ivana Jaya (INA), Nikki Garrett (AUS)
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