Anvitha withdraws, but Vani leads strong field at Women''s Pro Golf Tour

Bengaluru, Jun 17 (PTI) Last week’s winner, Anvitha Narender will skip the eighth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the Bangalore Golf Club here, but the 57-player field still might see tough competition.

The event carrying a prize purse of Rs.17 lakh will feature the 2025 Hero Order of Merit winner Vani Kapoor, the experienced Tvesa Mali, Ridhima Dilawari, Amandeep Drall, Neha Tripathi, Vidhatri Urs and Seher Atwal.

Vani, 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 he 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 Vani 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 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. PTI Corr UNG