2007 DLF Women's Indian Open - Round 1: Teenage amateur Meghna Baltakes lead by two

India's 18-year-old amateur Meghna Bal upstaged a strong professional field in the opening round of the inaugural USD100,000 DLF Women's Indian Open at the DLF Golf & Country Club.

The 18-year-old Meghna, the youngest player in the field, gave a fine display to post a 4-under 68 to take two-shot cushion from another compatriot Irina Brar, Thailand's Russamee Gulyanamitta and Chinese Taipei's Tseng Ya Ni. The trio shot identical 2-under 70 to occupy joint second spot.

Meghna's performance raised eyebrows from officials and spectators as she displayed right approach and match temperament.

Her card was only botched by a bogey on the fifth, where she missed the putt. She started off confidently by picking up a stroke on the first hole. Then she added three consecutive birdies beginning on the eighth hole and then made another on the 12th.

"This raised my confidence. Initially when my name was called I had goose pimples and was a little nervous. But when I got to tee I said to myself 'go for it, I'm only an amateur' and I did put up a brave front to psyche myself," Meghna said.

Playing with an injured left wrist, Meghna who is US-bound to pursue a degree in Economics at St Lawrence University, Kansas, said she was more than happy with her performance. "I was hitting it close, but today my driver was not as good as I like it."

While Meghna had it good, her compatriot Irina Brar also gave the Indian fans something to cheer as she came in with a 2-under 70. The 23-year-old Irina, who hopes to get a top-of-the-world feeling in the near future, was in fact 3-under till the 14 th hole before she dropped a stroke on the 15th after missing a putt.

"I could have scored at least 5-under for the day had it not been for three close birdie putts (between 3 and 5 feet) that I missed," said Irina adding that she was a little disappointed with her putting.

Russamee set herself for an early birthday bash. She also shot a 70. The lanky Russamee said she was hitting the ball pretty well. "I managed to hit 16 greens which was good but I did not make the putts. The greens are too grainy and sleek. You need to give it a little slam in making the putts. Moreover, it was difficult to read the greens. Otherwise, I enjoyed it out here today. I like the course layout," she said.

Ya Ni, who hopes to end a three-year drought in winning a title, said her performance today would spur her on for tomorrow's play. "I was striking the ball well. But it was not easy on the greens. It's difficult to read them even with the help of the caddy," she said.

Korea's best -placed players were Lee Bo-ri and Lee Eun-kyoung. The duo shot identical 71 to share the fifth position.

March 14, 2007