Gurbani puts best foot forward in new year

“I have been working very hard on my putting for a while now,” says Gurbani while speaking to Sportline on Tuesday. “And that turned out to be the key for me at the Eastern India too. Not only did I feel much more confident on the greens,I’ll go as far as saying that it was the best I’ve ever putted during a tournament.”

Gurbani shot a two-over 72 on the first day and followed that up with a commendable one-under 69. Ending with a four-over 74,Gurbani’s total of five-over 215 was miles ahead of nearest finisher,local girl Neha Tripathi,who only managed an aggregate of 232.

“I was playing really well,but I think the other girls were so far back because of one or two bad rounds,” a generous Gurbani says.

Kolkata has always been lucky for the 14-year-old,who trains under Romit Bose at the DGC. She won her first ever amateur title at the same tournament last season — in December 2008 — in the city,and she followed that up with the All-India title at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in February last year,becoming the youngest winner of the tournament in its 92-year history.

She was just 13 years and three months old then. “I guess Kolkata is turning out to be something of a lucky charm for me,” says Gurbani. “My aunt lives in the city so it’s sort of a second home for me anyway. I do like playing there.”

Top of money listThe win at Tollygunge has also put her on the top of the merit list and Gurbani wants to finish with a high like she did in the last season. “I’m going to Pune next week for the penultimate tournament of the season,and then it’s off to Ahmedabad for the All-India. I’m really excited about defending my title there as well,so they are an important two weeks for me,” she says.