Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 19 : Despite a slight wobble on the back nine, promising Aida Thimmaiah of Karnataka put her illustrious rivals in the shade on the opening day of the IGU Maharashtra Ladies and Junior Girls Golf Championship at the Willingdon Club here on Tuesday.
The 12-year-old shot the lone sub-par round (one-under 64) on a tough scoring day to take a one-shot lead over Yogya Bhalla. Ayesha Gupta, who won the overall title in the season opener, shot one-over 66 to sit a shot further back, while Mehak Lohan sat alone in fourth place with a 67.
The young Aida, playing in a higher category, began well with birdies on the third, fourth, sixth, and ninth holes. The lone blemish on the front nine came on the seventh, where she ended up with a three-putt. The greens were tough to read and putt on as they had recently undergone coring.
On the back nine, Aida, who finished No. 2 in Category 'C' (11-12) last year, dropped shots on the 10th, 13th and 16th holes. However, the Coorg girl picked up a shot on the 15th to take the overall lead for the first time in her fledgling career.
Karnataka's Aashna Amogha and Aaliyah Kalra of Haryana were tied for the lead with a score of six-over 71.
Leading scores (after 18 holes, Combined Ladies, Category 'A' (15-17 & 'B' (13-14): 64: Aida Thimmaiah (Karnataka); 65: Yogya Bhalla (Delhi); 66: Ayesha Gupta (Delhi); 67: Mehak Lohan (Haryana); 68: Rabab Kahlon (Punjab); 69: Janneya A Dasanniee (Gujarat), Ceerat Kang (Haryana); 70: Isha AR (Karnataka), Preitisha Gill (Haryana), Rianca Thimmaiah (Karnataka), Dia Cris Kumar (Karnataka).
Category 'C' (11-12): 71: Aashna Amogha (Karnataka), Aaliyah Kalra (Haryana); 72: Nandini Rathee (Haryana); 76: Vidushi Singh; 77: Gairat Kaur Kahlon (Punjab).