Mumbai, Jan 12 (IANS) Saanvi Somu heads a strong list of new professionals for the calendar year 2026, as the 10 new pros join this year, qualified through the qualifier at Jaypee Wishtown, and four came from the IGU Ladies OOM and WAGR events. The WGAI now has a record 62 registered pro players, and it includes 14 new pros joining this year.

The event at BPGC has a host of new professionals who will play alongside some of the experienced stars, signalling the start of a new season on the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour 2026.

The opening leg of the Tour, which is now almost a decade and a half old, carries a purse of Rs 17 lakh and will see a field led by Sneha Singh, a former Hero Order of Merit winner.

Of the total prize money of Rs 2.5 crore for the year, Rs 1.47 cr has already been distributed in the financial period from April 2025 to December 2025. The balance of 1.03 Cr will be distributed in the next six events till March 2026, the first of which is going to be held at BPGC from January 13.

The first six events will be held between January and March, and the remaining nine events for 2026 will be held after that.

Sneha Singh, one of three multiple-time winners in 2025, will contest for the honours alongside Amandeep Drall, Ridhima Dilawari, Jasmine Shekar, Rhea Purvi Saravanan, and Vidhatri Urs, among others.

One of the stars to make a move from amateur ranks to professionals is Saanvi Somu, who has finished runner-up on as many as four occasions and is still looking for a maiden win on the Women’s Pro Golf Tour. The highly talented young golfer, Saanvi, has donned India colours on numerous occasions. Saanvi could well be the player to watch this season.

Apart from Sneha and Amandeep, who won more than once last year, the other winners from 2025 in the field are Jasmine Shekar, Ridhima Dilawari, Lavanya Jadon, Rhea Purvi Saravanan, and Heena Kang.

Though some of the top Indians are skipping the opening week, the field is still very strong. Five of the top six from the 2025 Merit List will line up in the season’s first event at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club. The 2025 season was a huge success and very lucrative for the players, as no less than nine players made more than Rs 10 lakh in prize money. In addition, many of them also played the IGPL Tour, which has the Women’s Golf Association of India as one of its partners.

Four amateurs are also in the field, and among the prominent ones is Zara Anand, who, later this year, will join college golf in the United States. Kashika Mishra, Aradhana Manikandan, and Thea Ajoomal are the other amateurs in the field.

–IANS

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