Between exams,Vani finds time for golf study

The Queen Sirikit Cup,the official ladies’ tournament in the Asia-Pacific region,will be held at the Hamilton Golf Club in New Zealand from April 7 to 9 and in a 54-hole strokeplay format tournament where the best two scores in the team are counted in each round,Vani will have to lead the Indian charge. She’s ready for it. “I make sure I go to the course at least every alternate day,” Vani says,speaking to Sportline on Wednesday. “Examinations have to be my focus,of course,but it is an important tournament and I have to make sure I’m game ready for it.”

Vani,who calls DLF Golf & Country Club home,won three titles in the just-gone season,along with four runner-up performances,to finish on the top of the ladies circuit pile,with 13 points separating her and second-placed Gurbani Singh. That meant that in her busy schedule,she also had to find time to pick up the Rolex Excellence Award for her performance in the last season. “I had a great season,and to be recognised for that in front of so many people felt great,” she says.

Vani began the season with a bang,winning the Southern India in September,followed that up with a title closer home,at the Noida Open in December,and finished with taking home the Billoo Sethi trophy at the All India in Ahmedabad in early February. In between were strewn four runner-up finishes. On the order of merit list,the battle was between two teenagers — Vani and Delhi Golf Club’s Gurbani,herself just 15. “I have been playing for only five years,” Vani says,“So this top slot means a lot to me.”

The youngster trains with Anitya Chand,and even with her tiny frame she says her strength lies in driving. “I like to hit it long,I’ve been always doing that,” she says. It is her putting skills though,which got her some special commendation from unexpected quarters. At the European Tour’s Avantha Masters at DLF last month,Germany’s Marcel Siem had Vani on his team for the pro-am,and when he shot a spectacular eight-under 64 to end Day One as the leader,he modestly credited Vani for her putting advice. “I had just told him to hit the ball firm and not keep it short,” Vani says. “It’s really nice to get a mention like that. I play at the course every day,so I’m pretty familiar with how the greens behave.”

With her next examination — Geography — on Friday,Vani will be more than halfway through,and she can’t wait for the end to come. “I’m just waiting for March 31,when I get done. My school works under the ICSE board,which basically means I have almost double the number of subjects to what I would’ve had in the CBSE system. It’s for this reason that I’m considering switching schools for the coming session. That way I can give even more time to golf.”

That’s another piece of puzzle fitting in just perfectly into her plan of mastering her sport.