Gurugram, March 11 Jasmine Shekar dominated the opening round of the fifth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour here on Wednesday, shooting a two-under 70 to take the lead over promising amateur Lavanya Gupta (71).
Mannat Brar, who had shown strong performances in the late part of last season, finished third with an even par 72, as only three players shot par or better on the challenging Gary Player layout of the DLF Golf & Country Club.
The field of 57 players, including 49 professionals competing for a prize purse of Rs. 18 lakh, saw several young players perform well, with Vidhatri Urs, Lavanya Jadon, and Jahnavi Prakhya carding a 2-over 74.
Jasmine, who won the first leg of the 2026 season, started steadily with four pars and a birdie on the Par-3 fifth, adding four more pars to finish the front nine at one-under.
On the back nine, she birdied the 11th to go two-under. She bogeyed on the 14th but immediately recovered on the 15th, only to bogey again on the 16th. A closing birdie on the 18th ensured she finished the day two-under.
Lavanya, the highly touted amateur, was three-under through the first 12 holes. She birdied the fifth, 10th, and 12th holes. Four more pars followed, and she was three-under after 16 holes. However, she closed with two bogeys to finish with a score of 71.
Mannat had two birdies and one bogey on the front nine, and then two bogeys and a birdie on the 18th on the back nine.
Amandeep Drall (75) and Saanvi Somu (75) were tied for seventh, along with Khushi Khanijau, Anvvi Dahhiya, Nayanika Sanga, Durga Nittur, and Gauri Karhade.
Former Hero Order of Merit winner, Sneha (76), was 14th, while Tvesa Malik finished 15th with a score of 77. Ridhima Dilawari (78), who won the fourth leg, was tied for 19th, having made no birdies, and she had four bogeys and one double bogey.