Ridhima Dilawari produced one of the most resilient closing rounds of her professional career to win the second leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour (WPGT) at Kalhaar Blues & Greens, Ahmedabad, on Friday.
In a final round that swung wildly with pressure, mistakes, and missed opportunities, Ridhima overcame a crippling quadruple bogey on the back nine to edge out amateur Zara Anand by a single shot and secure her first title since July last year. Ridhima signed for a 5-over 77 in the final round, finishing the tournament at even-par 216. Zara Anand’s closing 74 took her to 1-over 217, while the ever-consistent Vani Kapoor produced a solid 72 to finish third at 2-over 218. It was a leaderboard that remained in flux right until the final holes, but Ridhima’s composure when it mattered most ultimately made the difference.
A commanding position, then sudden chaos
Going into the final day, Ridhima looked firmly in control. Her four-shot lead over Zara Anand after 36 holes had put her in the driver’s seat, and with calm conditions and a receptive course, it appeared to be a matter of maintaining momentum rather than needing heroics.
However, golf has a way of rewriting scripts quickly.
Ridhima began with a bogey on the first hole but steadied herself with eight consecutive pars, keeping her challengers at bay and seemingly cruising toward the clubhouse. Then came the Par-4 tenth, which turned the entire tournament on its head. A series of errors culminated in a disastrous quadruple bogey, wiping out her cushion in a single hole and suddenly throwing the door wide open.
With eight holes still to play, Ridhima was no longer the runaway leader. She was now under siege from multiple directions.
Challengers circle, but none can strike
The collapse on the tenth allowed several players to sniff a potential upset. Amateur Lavanya Gupta, who had birdied the second and parred her way through the front nine, suddenly found herself sharing the lead after ten holes. Zara Anand, steady as ever, was still well within striking distance, and Vani Kapoor was making quiet progress behind the scenes.
Yet what followed was a fascinating study in pressure golf.
Lavanya Gupta faltered on the back nine, dropping three bogeys that pushed her out of contention just as quickly as she had entered it. Zara Anand, after a flawless front nine of nine pars, hit trouble of her own with a double bogey on the 10th and a bogey on the 13th. Though she bounced back with a birdie on the 15th, she could not find another red number over the closing stretch that would have forced a playoff.
Vani Kapoor, who began the day six shots behind Ridhima, mounted a late charge with birdies on the seventh and 11th. Importantly, she did not drop a single shot on the back nine. However, she too could not generate the birdies required to bridge the gap completely, settling for a well-fought third place.
Others, including Sneha Singh and Jahanvi Bakshi, also had fleeting moments of promise but were undone by double bogeys and late mistakes that took them out of contention.
Ridhima’s quiet resistance
While chaos unfolded around her, Ridhima did not sparkle but she survived. After the quadruple bogey, she shut down the mistakes and relied on controlled, conservative golf to keep her name at the top. Pars from that point onward became golden, as every missed opportunity by her challengers effectively handed the advantage back to her.
This was not a glamorous win built on birdies and momentum, but it was arguably more impressive — a victory forged through emotional control, discipline, and refusal to unravel.
Her ability to steady herself after such a damaging hole, with the entire field suddenly breathing down her neck, was the defining feature of the tournament.
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Beyond the trophy, this win has significant implications for the 2026 Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour season. With the victory, Ridhima moved to the top of the Order of Merit with ₹4.00 lakh in earnings, overtaking Jasmine Shekar, who had won the first leg of the tour. Jasmine endured a difficult week in Ahmedabad and finished 18th, slipping to second on the money list with ₹2.30 lakh.
For Ridhima, the timing could not have been better. After months without a title, this victory not only reaffirms her competitive edge but also places her in prime position early in the season to push for the year-long honours.
Behind the top three, Sneha Singh, Lavanya Gupta, and Jahanvi Bakshi tied for fourth, each experiencing a mix of birdies and costly errors. Nayanika Sanga finished seventh, Amandeep Drall eighth, and Lavanya Jadon ninth. Amateur Mahreen Bhatia and Riya Jadon rounded out the top ten. But in the end, the story belonged to Ridhima Dilawari not for flawless golf, but for the grit she showed when everything threatened to unravel.
In a sport where one hole can change everything, Ridhima proved that how you respond matters far more than how you stumble.
