DailyWorld News - The First International Newspaper From India https://dailyworld.in/ Thu, 25 Sep 2025 19:43:37 +0530 en https://dailyworld.in/golf/golfer-lavanya-jadon-takes-one-shot-lead-in-13th-leg-of-wpg-tour-640225.html Gurugram Sep 23 Lavanya Jadon overcame a late double bogey to take a oneshot lead in the 13th Leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the DLF Golf and Country Club Lavanya 73 was one shot ahead of the experienced Amandeep Drall 74 and amateur Zara Anand 74 Four players amateur Lavanya Gupta Vani Kapoor Astha Madan and Ananya Garg carded 3over 75 each to be tied fourth Another shot behind them were six players Heena Kang Kriti Chowhan Jahaanvie Walia and three amateurs Mannat Brar Anvvi Dahhiya and Ananyaa Sood all of whom shot 4over 76 eachLavanya opened with a bogey but got the shot back on the Par3 second Another bogey on sixth and a birdie on the ninth saw her turn in even par On the back nine she birdied the 12th but bogeyed the 13th and double bogeyed the 14th A birdie on the 17th ensured she was one over par and leadingAmandeep Drall had two birdies against four bogeys while Zara also had two birdies against four bogeysVani Kapoor the leader on Order of Merit had four birdies but she also had three bogeys and two double bogeysTee times for Round 2 of the 13th Leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the DLF Golf and Country Club730 am Snigdha Goswami 87 Ananya Datar 85 Rhea Purvi 85740 am Neha Tripathi 84 Yaalisai Verma 84 Anvitha Narender 83750 am Anahita Singh 83 Anuradha Chaudhuri A 83 Shagun Narain 82800 am Riddhima Singh A 82 Karishma Govind 82 Agrima Manral 81815 am Seher Atwal 81 Yashita Raghav 81 Sneha Singh 80825 am Vidhatri Urs 79 Rhea Jha 78 Mahreen Bhatia A 77835 am Shrestha Shukla 77 Khushi Khanijau 77 Gaurika Bishnoi 77845 am Durga Nittur 77 Jasmine Shekar 77 Ananyaa Sood A 76900 am Anvvi Dahhiya A 76 Jahaanvie Walia 76 Kriti Chowhan 76910 am Mannat Brar A 76 Heena Kang 76 Ananya Garg 75920 am Astha Madan 75 Vani Kapoor 75 Lavanya Gupta A 75930 am Zara Anand A 74 Amandeep Drall 74 Lavanya Jadon 73 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golfer-lavanya-jadon-takes-one-shot-lead-in-13th-leg-of-wpg-tour-640225.html Tue, 23 Sep 2025 23:22:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/tvesa-leads-indian-challenge-with-t-17-finish-on-day-1-at-la-sella-open-639368.html Denia Spain Sep 19 Tvesa Malik battling to secure full playing rights on the Ladies European Tour opened her campaign at the 2025 La Sella Open with a solid 1under 71 The effort placed her in tied17th position making her the best performer among the seven Indians in the 1 million euros event Among the others Hitaashee Bakshi carded a 72 to be tied28th while Indias leading LET stars Diksha Dagar and Pranavi Urs each returned scores of 73 and sit in tied44th place Ridhima Dilawari posted 75 to be T77 while both Avani Prashanth and Vani Kapoor struggled to 78 and are placed T113 leaving them in danger of an early exitAt the top of the leaderboard Canadian rookie Anna Huang lit up the course with a flawless bogeyfree 64 8 to take a twoshot lead The 16yearold who earned her LET card through QSchool last December strung together a run of birdiesbacktoback on holes 2 and 3 three in a row from 6 to 8 and more on 10 12 and 13to set the early pace in SpainFor Tvesa the round was a mix of resilience and recovery Starting on the first she dropped an early shot on the second but regained it at the fifth Her round featured two sets of bogeybirdie exchanges on holes 89 and 1213 before finishing strong with a birdie on the 18th for her underpar cardHitaashees 72 included five birdies offset by three bogeys and a double Pranavi managed three birdies but slipped with two bogeys and a double while Diksha fought back admirably after dropping three bogeys in her opening six holes She steadied herself with three birdies on the back nine including two in succession at 16 and 17Behind Huang Frances Nastasia Nadaud and Germanys Leonie Harm share second on sixunder 66 Slovenias Pia Babnik 67 sits in fourth while Spains Luna Sobron Galmes is fifth at fourunder 68 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/tvesa-leads-indian-challenge-with-t-17-finish-on-day-1-at-la-sella-open-639368.html Fri, 19 Sep 2025 10:46:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/chennai-open-2025-n-thangaraja-rises-to-the-top-with-dazzling-63-on-moving-day-639321.html Chennai Sep 18 Sri Lankan N Thangaraja rose to the top of the leaderboard by matching the tournament low of nineunder 63 in round three also known as the moving day at the Chennai Open 2025 an INR 1 crore event being played at the Cosmo TNGF Golf Course here on Thursday Thangaraja 696663 who was four shots off the lead in tied fourth place at the halfway stage made solid ground on day three to move up three spots into a oneshot lead at 18under 198Thangaraja a fivetime winner on the PGTI who secured his last win earlier this year now resumes his rivalry with secondplaced Manu Gandas who came from behind on the last day to defeat the former at the Chennai Open three years back an event also played at the Cosmo TNGF Golf CourseGurugrams Manu Gandas 666865 produced an errorfree 65 to gain one spot and move into second place at 17under 199 Shaurya Bhattacharya 676569 of Delhi slipped one spot to third place at 15under 201 after he posted a 69 on day threeChandigarhs Akshay Sharma the halfway leader by one shot dropped to tied fourth place at 14under 202 following his round of 71 on Thursday Akshay was joined by Honey Baisoya 66 in joint fourth positionEarlier in the day the unfinished second round was completed with the cut falling at oneover 145 Fiftyseven professionals made the cut Round three resumed thereafter from 910 am local timeThe 44yearold Colombo resident N Thangaraja came up with a dazzling 63 on Day Three thus matching the tournaments lowest score also achieved by Akshay Sharma in round one and Anant Singh Ahlawat in round twoThangarajas round featured an eagle on the 16th eight birdies and a bogey He used his irons and wedges to great effect leaving himself four tapins one for eagle and three for birdies His longest putt of the day was a 20foot birdie conversion on the fifthThangaraja said I was spot on with my approach shots and wedge shots today I struggled with my putting in the first two rounds but today it was more solid even though I didnt leave myself too many long puttsIm quite familiar with this course and feel at home at this venue having done well here in the past Its great to compete against Manu in the leader group once again after three years at the same venue I look forward to the contest as Im feeling good about my game having posted top15s in the last four eventsManu Gandas searching for his ninth PGTI title and first win in a yearandahalf announced himself as a contender with his seven birdies on Thursday IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/chennai-open-2025-n-thangaraja-rises-to-the-top-with-dazzling-63-on-moving-day-639321.html Thu, 18 Sep 2025 23:20:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-dagar-to-lead-indias-charge-as-womens-indian-open-kick-off-on-oct-9-639079.html New Delhi Sep 17 The prestigious Womens Indian Open is set to take place from October 9 to 12 at the DLF Golf and Country Club This year the tournament purse has been increased by 25 taking it up from 400000 to 500000 with the winner set to earn 75000 Leading the Indian charge at the WIO will be Diksha Dagar one of Indias top women golfers and a consistent contender in recent editions The early entries include the defending champion Liz Young of England and the current 2025 Order of Merit leader Mimi Rhodes who is showing noticeable talent even while being in her rookie yearPast LET Order of Merit winners Switzerlands Chiara Tamburlini 2024 and Thailands Trichat Cheenglab 2023 are also participating Recent winners like Alice Hewson of England Shannon Tan of Singapore Darcey Hall and Sara Kouskova have also sent in their entries The last date for entries is still open and more confirmations are expected in the weeks leading up to the tournamentAlmost all the top Indian women will be participating in the HWIO and they will face a strong challenge from the international players More than half a dozen Indian women have been playing regularly on the Ladies European Tour which has a very strong relationship with the Womens Golf Association of India WGAISince its inception in 2007 the Womens Indian Open has showcased the rise of Indian women golfers on the global stage While Aditi Ashok remains the only Indian to have won the tournament in 2016 recent years have seen multiple Indian players making strong bids for the title including Amandeep Drall who was runnerup in 2022 and Diksha Dagar who finished third in 2023Kavita Singh president Womens Golf Association of India said I am delighted to announce that the 17th edition of the Hero Womens Indian Open 2025 will be hosted again at the DLF Golf amp Country Club Gurugram a venue which has become synonymous with golfing excellenceWe are indeed privileged to work with the Ladies European Tour This partnership which gets stronger with each passing year ensures that the Hero Womens Indian Open continues to rise in stature We are sure that our continuing association with them will be a key factor in the growth of womens golf in India said Kavita SinghAlexandra Armas CEO of the LET said The Hero Womens Indian Open has become a constant on the LET schedule and takes place at an important time in the season with players looking to consolidate or improve their ranking in the LET Order of Merit This is an event the players look forward to year on year and we cant wait to return to DLF GampCC a topquality golf course next month We are immensely proud of our longstanding partnership with the WGAI which continues to inspire generations of female golfers across the country We are excited to work with our longterm partners in India once again to ensure another hugely successful eventThe DLF Golf and Country Club will be hosting the event for the 15th time and is rightly called the Home of Indian womens golf Barring two times when the new course was being designed by the legendary Gary Player the DLF Golf and Country Club has hosted every edition since 2007 The awardwinning course is in excellent condition and is considered one of the best in India and the South Asian regionThe practice rounds will be held on October 7 and 8 and the first round will be held on October 9 and finish on October 12 2025The WIO is South Asias biggest womens golf tournament and a key event on the Ladies European Tour LET calendar The Womens Pro Golf Tour has been instrumental in developing and promoting womens golf in India providing a strong domestic platform for emerging talent to compete and grow This robust tour plays a vital role in preparing Indias top golfers for international competition culminating each year in the prestigious Womens Indian Open WIO IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-dagar-to-lead-indias-charge-as-womens-indian-open-kick-off-on-oct-9-639079.html Wed, 17 Sep 2025 19:45:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/shubhankar-sharma-misses-15thcut-in-a-row-as-matsuyama-leads-bmw-pga-638299.html Wentworth UK Sep 13 Shubhankar Sharma missed his 15th cut in a row as he crashed out of the BMW PGA Championship with rounds of 7174 as the first cut fell at 2under with 82 players A second additional cut will be applied after the third round after which a maximum of 78 players will play the final round Sharma who has not made a cut since the Indian Open in his home country has been struggling with his form since thenVeer Ahlawat who came through by topping the PGTI Order of Merit in India did not get into the field this weekHideki Matsuyama leads the field by one shot at the halfway stage after firing two extraordinary eagles in his secondround 64 but he has a worldclass chasing pack waiting to pounce over the weekendThe tournament debutant found himself four shots off the lead at the conclusion of the weatheraffected first round but soon set about closing the gap when he teed off in the afternoonThe Major Champion turned in 31 after making an eagle and two birdies on the front nine before a run of three gains in four holes after the turn catapulted him up the leaderboardMatsuyama bogeyed the 15th following an errant teeshot but bounced back in style with a chipin eagle on the 17th to take the outright lead on 12 under parEuropean Ryder Cup stars Justin Rose Ludvig berg and Viktor Hovland share second place on 11 under with Spaniard Pablo Larrazábal another stroke further backRory McIlroy 6972 Shane Lowry 6774 were tied 44th while Tommy Fleetwood birdied the 18th to shoot 69 after a first round 73 to be T61 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/shubhankar-sharma-misses-15thcut-in-a-row-as-matsuyama-leads-bmw-pga-638299.html Sat, 13 Sep 2025 17:19:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/igpl-bhullar-holds-off-young-challengers-to-win-first-event-638104.html Chandigarh Sep 12 An early eagle and a late birdie plus smart course management drawn from his experience of almost two decades saw Gaganjeet Bhullar card a 2under 70 final round and create history as he became the first IGPL Invitational Champion Bhullar winner of 11 Asian Tour titles the most by an Indian and an icon player in the IGPL shot three great rounds of 707170 for a 5under total and won by two shots over the consistent M Dharma at the Chandigarh Golf ClubThe man who has won on many Tours immediately remarked This one is for the history books Indeed there will be many more IGPL champions in the coming weeks but Bhullar will always be the firstBhullar took home a whopping cheque of R 2250 lakhs from the prize purse of Rs 15 crores Dharma bagged Rs 15 lakhs and the threesome of Veer Ganapathy Kartik Sharma and Shaurya Binu earned around Rs 87 lakh eachBhullar was challenged hard by Dharma young Ganapathy and Binu Dharma shot 707568 to finish sole second and he gave Bhullar a tough fight with a 5under back nine but his two bogeys on the front nine cost him dearlyLefthanded debutant Ganapathy 727270 son of former pro and now coach Rahul Ganapathy was tied for third alongside another southpaw Kartik Sharma 737368 who produced a 4under 68 the equal best round of the tournament and Binu 697273 finished in a tie for third Binu had held at least a share of the lead for the first 36 holesAnother young player Neil Jolly and the experienced Kapil Kumar were tied for sixth at 1under for the week as only seven players came under par on a challenging courseThree players Dharma Kartik and Sunhit Bishnoi 757368 for 8th place produced 68s on a course that was difficult to score after the rains pounded in the few weeks before the event Yet the Chandigarh Golf Club managed to get it in shape for the Rs 15 crore eventKartik Singh who at various stages this week indicated that he could be the next big star finally finished Tied ninth alongside Aman Raj Sanju Kumar Sachin Baisoya Harendra Gupta and Pukhraj Singh GillJahanvi Bakshi making a comeback after two years of injuries was the top woman finisher with rounds of 737175 and was 19th in a field of 54 that included 38 men pros 10 women pros and six amateursUttam Singh Mundy CEO of the IGPL was delighted with the week and said We call the IGPL as the New Era in Golf and it has arrivedHe added Gaganjeet is a worthy winner and will inspire many young stars He is a perfect icon player on the IGPL We can also be assured that there is a good crop of young stars emerging I was very happy to see the likes of Veer Ganapathy Kartik Singh Krish Chawla Raghav Chugh and others rise to the occasion It became even more creditable as Veer Kartik and Raghav took a big step in their lives by turning pro this week and they showed that they belonged among the professionalsHe also said And finally a big thank you to the entire IGPL team which has put together the Tour in so short a time and the Chandigarh Golf for the support they gave usBhullar who opened with a bogey quickly more than made up with an eagle soon after A string of pars followed and as Dharma and the young brigade chased him he stayed steady and added a late birdie on the 17th to seal the issue Bhullar who will also play next week in the second IGPL event before leaving for the International Series outside India was happy with his game and thrilled with the tournamentHe said I am proud and thrilled to have created history by becoming the firstever IGPL Tour It is a new chapter in Indian golf and I am proud to be part of it The Tour has been created with a lot of care and brings together women pros young pros and amateurs onto the same platform as the top pros This will help them and hopefully I can inspire some of these youngsters just like Jeev Milkha Singh Jyoti Randhawa and Arjun Atwal and other seniors inspired meHe added Right now we have very few Indians on Asian Tour with a Tour card and I am one of them There was a time when we had more than a dozen Indians and a lot of wins came Indias way I hope the new stars like Veer Ganapathy Kartik Singh Krish Chawla and even Shaurya Binu and others we saw this week will soon get onto the Asian Tour Its always great to win thats what we pros play for but to get these young ones to fly the Indian flag high is my goal and a big motivationGanapathy who was 3under for the tournament at the 18th tee was in the mix all through was all set for a sole second He was sitting on an 8foot birdie on the 18th but he three putted and it became a bogey and he fell to tied thirdYet the bigbuilt young star said I had a blast this week Big bold golf aggressive play with no cut and I will take all the positives from this first week as a pro I am looking forward to all the other IGPL eventsDharma was happy to be part of IGPL and said It was great playing the event and was happy with the way the players were taken care ofThe next IGPL event will be held at the Jaypee Greens Greater Noida from September 17 to 19 2025 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/igpl-bhullar-holds-off-young-challengers-to-win-first-event-638104.html Fri, 12 Sep 2025 19:20:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-appoint-amitabh-kant-as-governing-body-member-638139.html New Delhi Sep 12 The Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI on Friday appointed former CEO of Niti Aayog and Indias G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant as its newest member on the governing body Amitabh Kant is one of Indias most distinguished bureaucrats and policy architects known for his transformative contributions to national governance Amitabh Kants legacy combines grassroots innovation policy reform strategic diplomacy and national branding making him a defining architect of modern Indias transformationAs tourism secretary in Kerala Amitabh Kant promoted the state as a tourist destination and is credited with popularising the slogan Kerala Gods Own Country during his tenure As Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism he conceptualised the iconic Incredible India and Atithi Devo Bhava campaigns intending to transform India into a soughtafter tourist destinationAs the Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion DIPP Kant drove initiatives such as Make in India Start Up India and Ease of Doing BusinessAmitabh Kant is also known to be a passionate and regular golfer His passion for golf and dedication to its growth reflect PGTIs mission of nurturing talent and fostering excellence in Indian golfThe PGTI also announced the beginning of its association with eminent corporate leaders Pradeep S Bakshi Shantanu Narayen and Nikesh Arora all of whom come on board the PGTI in advisory rolesThe appointment of Amitabh Kant as governing body member and Pradeep S Bakshi Shantanu Narayen and Nikesh Arora as advisors aligns with PGTIs continued commitment to strengthening the strategic direction of Indian professional golf and enhancing the Tours longterm growthKapil Dev President Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI said We are thrilled to welcome Mr Amitabh Kant to the PGTIs Governing Body His expertise vast experience leadership qualities and strategic vision will be incredible assets to the PGTI as we continue to build a worldclass platform for professional golf in India We believe Kants insights will be instrumental in raising the tours stature further expanding its reach and creating new opportunities for our talented golfers This is a significant step forward for Indian golf and we are excited at the prospect of working with Kant in order to take the sport to new heights in the countryWe are also delighted to welcome three visionary corporate leaders Pradeep S Bakshi Shantanu Narayen and Nikesh Arora as advisors to the PGTI Their strategic insights and experience will help elevate Indian professional golf to new heights and give our players the platform they deserveOn his appointment as Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI governing body member Amitabh Kant said I am happy to join the Governing Body of the Professional Golf Tour of India an organization led by the legendary Kapil Dev as its President and one that has been instrumental in nurturing Indias professional golf landscape I look forward to working with PGTIs dynamic leadership team by leveraging my experience in strategic initiatives to foster a robust ecosystem for our players Having been an avid golfer for many years I have seen firsthand the incredible talent and potential that exists within Indian golf I am committed to contributing to PGTIs vision and helping shape the future of professional golf in IndiaLeading Indian professional golfer Ajeetesh Sandhu a twotime international winner who continues to represent India on the international stage has also been nominated as a governing body member of the PGTI IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-appoint-amitabh-kant-as-governing-body-member-638139.html Fri, 12 Sep 2025 22:12:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/igpl-bhullar-joins-binu-in-lead-with-debutant-pros-kartik-and-veer-in-hot-chase-637944.html Chandigarh Sep 11 Gaganjeet Bhullar lived up to his top billing with a steady 1under 71 that carried him to the top and into a share of the first place with the overnight leader Shaurya Binu in the inaugural Rs 15 crore IGPL Invitational Chandigarh Bhullar 7071 and Binu 6972 were both tied at 3under as opening event of the IGPL Tour hung in a delicate balance with two others Kapil Kumar and Harendra Gupta were 1under and two shots behind in Tied third placeSix others were at even par on a course that did not yield many low scores and resulted in a tightly bunched leaderboard ahead of the final dayNo less than 10 players were within three shots of each other as the fight to become the first IGPL Champion became very intense It promises an exciting final day the likes of which have seldom been seen in Indian golf as the young and notsoyoung battle the youth and experienced alikeMaking it even more exciting was the presence of a woman pro Jahanvi Bakshi who was tied fifth with five others and just three behind the leaders A win for her would be historic and do wonders for Jahanvi as she slowly makes her way back after injuries over the last few yearsBhullar and Binu may share the lead but a whole bunch of players young and experienced were snapping at their heels to have a shot at the Rs 2250 lakh winners cheque one of the highest ever in a domestic event in IndiaAttracting a lot of attention on a crowded leaderboard were two debutant professionals Kartik Singh 7371 and Veer Ganapathy 7272Kartik Veer and Jahanvi were tied fifth alongside Sanju Kumar local man Ranjit Singh and Saarthak Chibber who bounced back on the second day with the days best of 69 after a 75 on the first dayBhullar opened with a bogey but rallied with birdies on the second and the fourth before turning in a series of pars He birdied the 12th but gave back that gain on the 14th with a bogey for a 71 that took him to 3underIt will be nice to begin a new IGPL Tour win in Chandigarh a city which has been like a home for me So a win tomorrow will mean a lotApart from my own game I have also enjoyed playing and interacting with young golfers who are still in their teens They have the talent and a great future said Bhullar who has 11 Asian Tour wins the most by any Indian golferBinu who began the day as the sole leader at 3under threatened to pull away from the field with early heroics He was on a song with three birdies against one bogey in the first seven holes After the turn he added another one on the 12th to go threeunder for the day sixunder for the tournament and seemed in commandThen he struck a disastrous patch with a bogeydouble bogeybogey from the 14th to the 16th and went 1over par A birdie on the 17th was like a balm ahead of the final day After 69 on the first day he finished par on the second dayI wont say putting was a problem My game just did not click after the first few holes Those three 141516 holes do not suit my eye said BinuKartiks card suggests a rollercoaster of a round with five birdies and three bogeys However till the 16th which he birdied he was cruising and gunning for the lead at 2under total Then came the putting woes as he bogeyed the closing two holes to fall back to even par three behind the leadersPutting let me down towards the end said the youngster who was confident of making amends on the final dayVeer Ganapathy shot a second successive even par round under the watchful eye of his father Rahul Ganapathy a former All India Amateur champion who once shot a 12under round in a pro eventTrailing Bhullar and Binu and lying Tied third were Kapil Kumar who hails from a pedigreed golfing family and Harendra Gupta whose love for and success at the Chandigarh Golf Club is almost unrivalledLocal Chandigarh man Harendra 41 who learnt his name at this very course and then honed it to the extent that four of his 11 wins in pro events have come here Harendra said the IGPL has given him new motivation His amazing record at the Chandigarh Golf Club consists of four pro wins in a little over 20 years at this course and one of the wins came while he was still an amateur way back in ago in 200304Kapil 33 who has time and again finished in Top5 on the Indian pro Tour is still looking for his maiden professional win this weekThe top woman in the field after two days was Jahanvi the older sister of Hitaashee also an IGPL player who is teeing up in Switzerland this week Jahanvi is making a comeback from a series of injuries which threatened her golfing career but this week should be just the boost she neededThe IGPL had been a great opportunity for me It has given me a chance to find my game back and I am so happy to be just playing again said JahanviSix players including two debutant pros Kartik and Veer were among the large bunch in tied fifth place IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/igpl-bhullar-joins-binu-in-lead-with-debutant-pros-kartik-and-veer-in-hot-chase-637944.html Thu, 11 Sep 2025 21:21:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhullar-neha-tripathi-amandeep-drall-and-kartik-singh-set-to-rock-in-inaugural-igpl-invitational-golf-637480.html Chandigarh Sep 9 An exciting mix of young and experienced golfers is all set to usher in a new era of Indian golf as the inaugural IGPL Invitational tees off at the iconic Chandigarh Golf Club on Wednesday The IGPL unveils a brandnew format that brings together talent from all segments both men and women pro golfers and top amateurs The IGPL Tour will have a series of events with multiple incentives including handsome purses of Rs 15 crore at each event in a season that will last till December and comprise 11 eventsA visibly pleased Uttam Singh Mundy CEO IGPL and a former pro with a lot of success as a player said Thank you all for being here at the press conference of the first event of the IGPL tour Its a pleasure to be at my home club Chandigarh Golf Club and I am truly grateful for their ongoing support IGPL is all about being progressive innovative and inclusive featuring both men and women professionals competing together for the same purse which is a first globallyHe added This is not just a golf tour its a celebration of the sport with entertainment lifestyle and growth at its core We are building something bigger than golf developing academies driving ranges and fostering grassroots programs Thank you again for being here and we look forward to seeing you throughout the tourLeading the star parade will be Indias most successful winner on the Asian circuit Gaganjeet Bhullar who has 11 wins in the events across the region besides other wins in and out of IndiaBhullar said I would like to thank everyone present here for supporting the IGPL We have been discussing this idea for a long time and brainstorming on what kind of format will bring a buzz to Indian golf I want to thank the IGPL team who have worked so hard over the last 45 months to bring everything togetherThe moment you enter a golf club you feel as if you are a part of the European Tour or the PGA Tour Chandigarh Golf Club is my home club I have played here for many years I am super excited since I found out that the first event will take place here Also I would like to congratulate the staff as the golf course is tremendous despite it being raining heavily for the past 23 daysBhullar also announced that his foundation has donated 100000 USD to the Khalsa Aid Foundation to help the flood victims in the region of PunjabAadil Bedi a local star with a good record in India and outside was happy to be at his home club and said Its been my home club for many years I have seen many tournaments but the buzz for IGPL is more than any other event Its been in the making for many years and for it to start from Chandigarh is a cherry on the cake I wish my very best to all the male and female playersAadil also announced that he has decided to donate 100 per cent of his winnings to the Punjab flood relief fundNeha Tripathi one of the experienced stars from IGPLs partner Womens Golf Association of India and a multiple winner was thrilled and commented I want to thank the cofounders for starting the league The buzz has been there for a long time I am quite excited for it to be up and running The format of guys and girls playing together gives a good opportunity to make good bucks and learn as a player Apart from the camaraderie that we share its a good opportunity to learn from each other for bigger competitionsOther stars in the field include the pathbreaking Gaurav Ghei an icon player on the IGPL circuit who was the first Indian to play at the Open Ghei also won three times on the Asian Tour Ghei former Indian Open Champion C Muniyappa and Asian Tour winner Chiragh Kumar are among the other winners of international titles on the Asian TourTwo of Indias most exciting young stars who turn professional this week will be Kartik Singh who played in the International Series earlier in the year and has represented India at multiple events in the last few years and Veer Ganapathy son of former pro Rahul Ganapathy a prolific performer in his heyday who now is a coach with a big list of promising and successful juniors from BengaluruThe field will comprise 54 players who will play for a whopping purse of Rs 15 crore which will be distributed based on their respective finishes With the tournament not having a cut all players will go back with handsome chequesThe field includes 10 women who have had success on the Womens Pro Golf Tour and include names like Amandeep Drall a former runnerup on the Ladies European Tour event the Womens Indian Open and winners on the domestic pro circuit like Neha Tripathi Seher Atwal Jasmine Shekar Vidhatri Urs and Heena KangOne of the most exciting innovations in the IGPL Tour will be the addition of talented amateurs The first event will see Indias reigning All India Amateur champion Mannat Brar who created history by becoming the first Indian to reach the last 16 of the prestigious RampA Womens Amateur Last year she was third at the RampA Girls ChampionshipTwo young stars Harjai Milkha Singh and Zorawar Randhawa sons of the legendary Indian golfers Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa will play alongside top Indian men and women pros for a taste of the highest level of competition The legendary Jeev Milkha and Randhawa are also likely to be seen in action in the IGPL later in the seasonTaking cognisance of the ongoing challenging times and relief efforts in the region the Indian Golf Premier League IGPL management participating players and brand ambassador Yuvraj Singh announced a contribution to the relief efforts in Punjab during the Chandigarh tourThis will be collected across prize money merchandise and donation contributions from the tournament taking place hereAdditionally the team is directly dispatching a truck with essentials to the floodimpacted areas as well as conducting a bike rally in the region to further raise awareness and contributionsThe IGPL officials said We all deeply sympathise with the victims of the devastating floods in Punjab and we stand in solidarity with the affected families during these challenging timesThe Chandigarh event is the first in the series of IGPL events which will run through to December and will be followed by a unique IGPL League the first of its kind in India IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhullar-neha-tripathi-amandeep-drall-and-kartik-singh-set-to-rock-in-inaugural-igpl-invitational-golf-637480.html Tue, 09 Sep 2025 21:49:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/umed-kumar-sets-the-pace-in-round-one-of-pgti-nexgen-637490.html Lucknow Sep 9 Umed Kumar from Chandimandir Haryana set the pace with a threeunder 67 to be the leader after round one of the seventh event of the PGTI NEXGEN season being played at the Lucknow Golf Club Local lad Sanjeev Kumar of Lucknow returned a twounder 68 to be placed secondThe Lucknow Golf Club is a par70 ninehole course where the nine holes are played twice to comprise a round On a number of holes there are different tees used and there are different hole locations for the frontnine and backnineUmed Kumar a winner on the PGTI NEXGEN this season came up with an errorfree round on Tuesday He made pars over the first 12 holes including a great save from the bunker on the 12thThe 24yearold Umeds round took off with his precise tee shot on the par3 13th that left him a fourfooter for birdie Thereafter he made a couple of tricky putts from a range of six to 10 feet for birdies on the 16th and 18thUmed currently placed eighth in the PGTI NEXGEN Order of Merit said It was all about my chipping today My chipping got me out of trouble every time as I missed a lot of greens today I kept landing my chip shots within a couple of feet of the flagIm carrying a lot of confidence from my recent performances as I finished fourth at last weeks NEXGEN event and also posted a top10 on the PGTIs main tour a couple of weeks back Im feeding off this confidence and will look to capitalize on it in the next two roundsLocal favourite Sanjeev Kumar produced six birdies and four bogeys during his round of 68 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/umed-kumar-sets-the-pace-in-round-one-of-pgti-nexgen-637490.html Tue, 09 Sep 2025 22:48:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pranavi-finishes-modest-50th-as-nuria-wins-her-fifth-let-title-637062.html Houston Sep 8 Pranavi Urs went 2over par on the third and final day of the 2025 Aramco Houston Championship and finished a modest Tied50th in the event Pranavi a multiple winner on her home tour the Womens Pro Golf Tour is returning from an injury and shot rounds of 726974 for an upanddown weekThe other two Indians in the field Avani Prashanth and Tvesa Malik missed the cutPranavi had just one birdie on the final day and three bogeys on the second fourth and the 13thSpains Nuria Iturrioz fired a final round of 68 4 to secure her fifth Ladies European Tour LET title She won by two strokesThe Spanish star began the day in second place just one shot behind compatriot Carlota Ciganda at Golfcrest Country Club Three birdies in her final five holes saw Iturrioz surge ahead of Ciganda and Englands Charley Hull to secure her first victory since 2023Iturrioz had caddie David Floyd on the bag and thanked him after the victory for the hard work hes put in to helping her out on the golf courseEnglands Hull 67 and Spains Ciganda 71 ended the week in a tie for second place on 11underpar in HoustonIturrioz made her first birdie of the day on the third and added another on the fifth before dropping a shot on the sixth after going into the waterThe 29yearold made a birdie on 11 but made a bogey on 13 however she found her momentum to finish in style with birdies on 14 15 and 17 to win with a score of 13underparSingapores Shannon Tan finished in solo fourth place on 10underpar after a final round of 64 8 which included an eagle eight birdies and two bogeysA trio of Frenchwoman were in a share of fifth place with Celine Boutier Perrine Delacour and Nastasia Nadaud all on nineunderparIn the LET Order of Merit Englands Rhodes still leads and has 196049 points to her name as Singapores Tan jumped up to second place With her victory Spains Iturrioz climbed from 28th place to 13th and now has a total of 101807 points IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pranavi-finishes-modest-50th-as-nuria-wins-her-fifth-let-title-637062.html Mon, 08 Sep 2025 11:38:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-returns-to-lucknow-golf-club-after-seven-years-636704.html Lucknow Sep 5 The seventh event of the 2025 Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI NEXGEN season will be the PGTI NEXGEN Lucknow which will be played at the Lucknow Golf Club from September 911 The tournament offers a prize purse of INR 20 lakh and marks the return of professional golf and the PGTI to Lucknow Golf Club after seven years The event will be played over three rounds 54 holes with the cut being applied after two rounds 36 holes The top36 players and ties will make the cut for the third and final roundThe tournament features a field of 72 professionals The Lucknowbased professionals in the field are Sanjeev Kumar Vijay Kumar Sanjay Kumar Manoj Kumar Bhoop Singh and Ashish Kumar GuptaThe prominent foreign players in the field are Americans Joe Hurn and Dominic Piccirillo Italian Federico Zucchetti Bangladeshis Md Muaj and Md Solayeman as well as Nepals Subash TamangThe 2025 PGTI NEXGEN season has been a highly competitive one with six different winners emerging at the six events staged so far The winner of this years NEXGEN Order of Merit will earn an exemption on the main tour PGTI for the 2026 seasonAmandeep Johl CEO Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI said The PGTI NexGen is all about nurturing young talent and promoting golf across India The return of professional golf to the Lucknow Golf Club after seven years with the staging of the NexGen event is therefore a significant milestone for usThe growth of golf in Lucknow a thriving golfing centre will receive further impetus with the conduct of the NexGen event We thank the Lucknow Golf Club for partnering with us and wish the players all the bestRS Nanda captain Lucknow Golf Club said Were thrilled to welcome back the Professional Golf Tour of India and host a mens professional event at Lucknow Golf Club after seven years We are committed to providing a great experience for the players members and spectators alike This tournament will go a long way in further popularising the sport in Lucknow We wish the players all the best IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-returns-to-lucknow-golf-club-after-seven-years-636704.html Fri, 05 Sep 2025 21:29:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/igpl-to-kick-off-from-september-10-in-chandigarh-636492.html New Delhi Sep 4 The Indian Golf Premier League IGPL a pioneering professional circuit that will feature both men and women competing on the same platform will kick off from September 10 in Chandigarh Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh on Thursday launched the inaugural IGPL Tour in New Delhi Launching the IGPL Tour which will begin from September 10th in Chandigarh IGPL cofounder Yuvraj Singh said A golfers life is not easy When you are going to tournaments you have to make the cut to earn money and pay the bills IGPL is providing a format for the younger generation coming on board so you do not have to worry about financial constraints The work being done on the grassroots level is quite important You can compare IGPL to IPL and it can change the dynamics in golf like IPL did with cricketIts a full IGPL tour and then it will be followed by a fastpaced IGPL League with both men and women playing together I think the equality in sport is very important I hope it will change the face of Golf in India A lot of efforts have been taken by stakeholders behind the scenes to grow the sport I want to see budding golfers do well We will have the Olympics soon and we will see our players winning medalsAlong with the launch of the tour IGPL also announced a key partnership with the Asian Tour the official sanctioning body for professional golf in the region allowing IGPL players to compete alongside the top Asian players at the Asian Tour event in India in November at Kensville Golf amp Country ClubIGPL Tour 2025 Schedule Chandigarh Sep 10 Sep 12 Chandigarh Golf Club Greater Noida Sep 17 Sep 19 Jaypee Greens Golf Course Pune Oct 1 Oct 3 The Poona Club Ltd Golf Course Hyderabad Oct 24 Oct 26 Golf Course TBA Kolkata Oct 29 Oct 31 Tollygunge Club Jamshedpur Nov 5 Nov 7 Beldih Golf Course Mumbai Nov 18 Nov 20 Bombay Presidency Golf Club IGPL amp Asian Tour Joint Sanctioned Nov 27 Nov 30 Kensville Golf Resort Ahmedabad Dec 2 Dec 4 Golf Course TBA UAE Dec 8 Dec 11 Golf Course TBA Sri Lanka Dec 23 Dec 25 Royal Colombo Golf ClubIn a move to strengthen the foundation of Indian golf and nurture emerging talent IGPL has forged key partnerships with the Indian Golf Union IGU as an umbrella partner IGPL is committed to building a sustainable pathway for Indias Olympic golf aspirations and hence has also formed a partnership with WGAI to elevate womens golf and provide female athletes with the platforms and exposure they deserve IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/igpl-to-kick-off-from-september-10-in-chandigarh-636492.html Thu, 04 Sep 2025 19:10:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pranavi-urs-leads-indian-challenge-at-houston-championship-636505.html Houston USA Sep 4 Pranavi Urs leads the Indian contingent at the Houston Championship the fourth event of the PIF Global Series this year Pranavi who had to miss a lot of earlier events due to a wrist injury is hoping to get back to form for the latter half of the season With Diksha Dagar sitting out the event at Golfcrest Country Club in Houston the other two Indians in the field are rookie Avani Prashanth and the experienced Tvesa MalikThe Houston Championship sees 104 professionals compete in both the 36hole Team competition and the 54hole Individual stroke play competitionPranavi a former multipletime winner on the Tour the Hero Womens Pro Golf Tour is still looking for her maiden win on the LET For the team event she is alongside Manon De Roey BEL Daniela Darquea ECU and Polly Mack GERAvani Prashanths teammates are Laura Fuenfstueck GER Rosie Davies ENG and Vanessa Bouvet FRATvesa is in the team with Darcey Harry WAL Olivia Cowan GER and Virginia Elena Carta ITAA total of 26 teams comprising four professionals will take part in the tournament with Team Captains selected using the official Rolex Womens World Golf Rankings as of August 25 2025As with previous events the captains picked in reverse order with the 26thranked captain selecting first and the 1stranked captain choosing lastEach captain chose one professional to be on their team meanwhile the third and fourth members were picked at randomThe field includes Leonie Harm who attended the University of Houston between 2016 and 2019 graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemical and Biophysical Sciences Being back in Houston means a lot to the German who enjoyed her time at college where she set multiple programme records and will have friend Devaughn Robinson on her bag this week IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pranavi-urs-leads-indian-challenge-at-houston-championship-636505.html Thu, 04 Sep 2025 20:08:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-amrit-lal-edges-out-sanjeev-lakshya-in-3-way-playoff-to-win-first-title-636514.html Patna Bihar Sep 4 Chandigarhs Amrit Lal edged out Lucknow golfer Sanjeev Kumar and Noidas Lakshya Nagar in a threeway playoff to register his first professional win at the PGTI NEXGEN 2025 at Patna Golf Club The 25yearold Amrit Lal 707074 the overnight joint leader fired a final round of twoover 74 to end the regulation 54 holes tied at the top of the leaderboard along with Sanjeev Kumar 727072 and Lakshya Nagar 687274 at a total score of twounder 214 In the threeway playoff Lakshya crashed out of the contest after making a bogey on the first extra hole Thereafter on the second extra hole Amrits consistency helped him prevail as he made par once again while Sanjeev conceded a bogey to fall shortAmrit Lal picked up the winning cheque worth INR 254300 which moved him up 13 spots from 17th to fourth position in the 2025 PGTI NEXGEN Order of MeritChandimandirs Umed Kumar 71 took fourth place at oneunder 215 Lucknows Rajesh Kumar Gautam who finished tied ninth at fiveover 221 in Patna continues to lead the 2025 PGTI NEXGEN Order of Merit with seasons earnings of INR 583200Patnas Md Nawab finished the best among the local professionals as he ended the week in tied 12th at sixover 222Amrit Lal whose previous best on the NEXGEN was a fourthplace finish began the day with a twoshot lead along with overnight coleader Lakshya Nagar Amrit was steady over the first 10 holes making a birdie on the second courtesy of a 30foot conversion and not dropping any shotsAmrit then endured a few stutters thanks to a few erratic tee shots and approach shots that resulted in four bogeys for him on the back nine He managed just one birdie on the back nine thanks to a 12foot conversion on the 15thFinally Amrit kept his composure on the two playoff holes to come home the champion even as his rivals Lakshya and Sanjeev dropped bogeys to finish joint runnersupAmrit said All departments of my game were quite sharp this week I drove chipped and putted really well Importantly I was mentally strong during the playoff and that helped me close out the matchI was actually encouraged by making the cut on the main tour a couple of weeks back after a long injuryaffected spell My injured left thumb caused me a lot of problems for a long period and that affected my performance But thanks to the help extended by Dr Vishal Gautam I managed to fully recover from the injury some time back I would also like to thank my fitness coach Mr Sagar Diwan for all his support and guidance IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-amrit-lal-edges-out-sanjeev-lakshya-in-3-way-playoff-to-win-first-title-636514.html Thu, 04 Sep 2025 21:10:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-heralds-return-of-professional-golf-to-patna-after-14-years-635748.html Patna Sep 1 The sixth event of the 2025 Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI NEXGEN season will be hosted by Patna Golf Club and played from September 2 to 4 The tournament which offers a prize purse of Rs 20 lakh marks the return of professional golf and the PGTI to Patna after 14 years The event will be played over three rounds 54 holes with the cut being applied after two rounds 36 holes The top36 players and ties will make the cut for the third and final roundThe tournament features a field of 64 professionals The Patnabased professionals in the field are Md Nawab Md Islam Varun Sahay Vishal Sahay Rohan Sharan and Faiyyaz AhmedThe 2025 PGTI NEXGEN season has been a highly competitive one with five different winners emerging from the five events staged so far Lucknows Rajesh Kumar Gautam who has posted a win and two other top5 finishes in the season currently leads the 2025 PGTI NEXGEN Order of MeritThe winner of this years NEXGEN Order of Merit will earn an exemption on the main PGTI tour for the 2026 seasonKapil Dev President Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI said It gives me immense pleasure to see the Professional Golf Tour of India return to the Patna Golf Club after 14 years Patna with its rich history and as the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh Ji holds a special place in our nations heritage As someone deeply passionate about growing the game across India it is heartening to witness golf making a strong comeback in states like Bihar We believe events like this will inspire a new generation of golfers in the region I thank Patna Golf Club the players and our partners for making this possible and I look forward to an exciting week of golfArvind Singh Secretary Patna Golf Club said Were thrilled to welcome back the Professional Golf Tour of India and host a mens professional event at Patna Golf Club after 14 years We are committed to providing a great experience for the players members and spectators alike This tournament will go a long way in further popularising the sport in Patna and the state of Bihar We wish the players all the bestThe ProAm event played on Sunday August 31 was won by the team led by local professional Md Nawab The winning team had a net score of 558 and consisted of amateurs Mayank Sahay Vijay Prakash and Santosh Kumar Mall IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-heralds-return-of-professional-golf-to-patna-after-14-years-635748.html Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:14:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-kshitij-naveed-kaul-snatches-victory-with-late-flourish-at-kolar-open-2025-635158.html Kolar Aug 29 Delhis Kshitij Naveed Kaul snatched victory with an incredible late flourish at the Rs 1 crore Kolar Open 2025 being played at the ZION Hills Golf County Kolar Karnataka Kaul 74697165 who was overnight fifth and six shots off the lead staged an unbelievable comeback on day four with a tournament low of sevenunder 65 highlighted by three birdies and an eagle on the last four holes that took his total to nineunder 279 and gave him a twoshot victory on the most windy day of the week when the wind speed crossed 30 km per hourIt was 24yearold Kauls fifth professional win His winning cheque of Rs 15 lakh pushed him up five spots to eighth position on the PGTI Order of Merit with his seasons earnings moving to Rs 4800847Shaurya Bhattacharya 70726673 another Delhibased professional and the overnight leader by three shots posted a final round of 73 to finish runnerup at sevenunder 281 Shaurya thus climbed four spots to sixth position in the PGTI Order of MeritGurugrams Dhruv Sheoran 67 signed off in third place at fourunder 284Punes Udayan Mane who set the course record of 67 in round two carded a 74 in the fourth round to close the week in tied fourth at threeunder 285 Honey Baisoya 72 of the DLF Golf amp Country Club Gurugram also took a share of fourth placeNepals Subash Tamang who was playing at his home course this week finished sixth at twounder 286Kaul announced himself as a contender early in the day when he produced some fabulous drives and wedgeplay to pick up four birdies on the first six holes He then endured a tough stretch dropping three straight bogeys from seven to the ninth as a result of finding the water hazard once and missing a couple of short putts However he did recover well after finding the water on the seventh to make an 18footer for bogeyAfter draining a birdie on the 10th Kaul who won his last title in November last year came up with a dream finish when he sank a couple of long birdie putts on the 15th and 16th and followed that up with a chipin for birdie on the 17th and a mammoth 30feet eagle conversion on the 18thKaul armed with a hot putter thus turned the tables on Shaurya Bhattacharya the leader for most part of the day right at the end With the rule of preferred lie in application in round four Kauls 65 did not count as a course recordHe said I stayed patient all day and focused on hitting quality shots All aspects of my game were sharp this week especially the driving and putting All the work done in the offseason seems to have paid off Its nice to win in tough conditions such as these It makes the win all that more satisfyingIn the final stretch I was just trying to hit one good shot after another The winds made it very challenging to control the distance and dispersion of the ball But I knew if I kept producing good shots I would finally come throughShaurya Bhattacharya made three birdies and bogeys each on the frontnine to hold on to his lead However he stumbled with three bogeys between the 11th and 15th after which he couldnt recover despite two birdies on the last three holes IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-kshitij-naveed-kaul-snatches-victory-with-late-flourish-at-kolar-open-2025-635158.html Fri, 29 Aug 2025 19:57:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/kolar-open-golf-shaurya-bhattacharya-builds-three-shot-lead-with-a-super-66-in-round-three-634933.html Kolar Karnataka Aug 28 Delhis Shaurya Bhattacharya delivered a tournament low score of sixunder 66 to build a threeshot lead at a total of eightunder 208 in round three of the INR 1 crore Kolar Open 2025 being played at the ZION Hills Golf Course located near Kolar in Karnataka Punes Udayan Mane 736771 who ended up as the round two leader following his course record score of 67 on Wednesday came up with a 71 on Thursday to drop down to second place at fiveunder 211 Honey Baisoya 70 of the DLF Golf amp Country Club Gurugram and Nepals Subash Tamang 72 were tied third at threeunder 213The 22yearold Shaurya Bhattacharya who was two shots off the lead at the start of round three got on a roll with three early birdies on the first four holes where he made some terrific upanddownsBhattacharya who has five top10s to his name this year including a victory continued to use his wedges to great effect when he added three more birdies from the 10th through the 12th Bhattacharyas two bogeys on the last five holes were negated by another two birdies on the same stretch He thus closed the round with some daylight between himself and the rest of the fieldBhattacharya said I hit it really well off the tees my driving was great and I backed that up with good approach shots today I kept it in play I hit a lot of regulations Importantly I made a good start on both the frontnine and the backnine which kept the momentum going for meThe layout here is quite challenging especially on the back nine There are some scoring holes but there are also some holes that can really spoil your scorecard So you have to plan well for those holesUdayan Mane is Bhattacharyas nearest challenger Udayan had a rollercoaster third round as he produced seven birdies in exchange for six bogeys Mane who was the leader by one shot after round two braved a horrid stretch of four consecutive bogeys from the sixth to the ninth in round three where he missed fairways and greensUdayan Mane looking to end a fouryearlong winless streak closed the day on a positive note with two birdies on the last three holes to keep himself in the hunt IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/kolar-open-golf-shaurya-bhattacharya-builds-three-shot-lead-with-a-super-66-in-round-three-634933.html Thu, 28 Aug 2025 22:51:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/four-players-locked-for-lead-in-a-tight-battle-in-12th-leg-of-wpgt-634944.html Hosur TN Aug 28 Amandeep Drall roared back into form with a solid card of 4under 68 to take a share of the fourway lead after two rounds in the 12th Leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at Clover Greens here on Thursday Amandeep 7568 now shares the lead with Khushi Khanijau 7568 Ananya Garg 7271 and the first round leader amateur Mannat Brar 7073 Sneha 7668 who was one of the four players to shoot the days best card was fifth one place ahead of Ridhima Dilawari who also put herself in contention with a 68 that included an eagletwo after a firstround 77 Ridhima was Tiedsixth with Karishma Govind 7471 at 145Amandeep who had struggled to 75 on the first day opened with a birdie on the first and added a second birdie on the eighth A bogey on the ninth saw her turn in 1under On the back nine three birdies in a row from 11th to the 13th saw her make good headway before she finished with a bogey on the 15th and a birdie on the 17thKhushi Khanijau after a bogeybirdie on the sixth and the seventh holed four birdies in a fivehole stretch between the ninth and the 13th She closed with five pars for a 68Sneha Singh had as many as seven birdies in her 68 against three bogeys while Ridhima the fourth player to shoot 68 had five birdies and an eagle against three bogeysFirst round leader Mannat carded four birdies against five bogeys for a 73 Anvitha Narender 7571 and Jasmine Shekar 7274 were tied eighth at 146 Amateur duo Lavanya Gupta 7474 and Aaradhya Shetty 7375 were tied for tenth at 147The cut fell at 9over 153 and 23 players will play in the final round Among those missing out was Vidhatri UrsWith as many as nine players within three shots of the lead the third and final round promises to be a cliffhanger at the Rs 15 lakh eventThe lead group comprises Amandeep Drall Khushi Khanijau and Ananya Garg while the second last group will have amateur Mannat Brar Sneha Singh and Ridhima Dilawari IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/four-players-locked-for-lead-in-a-tight-battle-in-12th-leg-of-wpgt-634944.html Thu, 28 Aug 2025 23:01:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-udayan-mane-seizes-clubhouse-lead-with-course-record-67-on-rain-affected-second-day-634649.html Kolar Aug 27 Olympian Udayan Mane fired a course record score of fiveunder 67 to seize the clubhouse lead on day two of the Rs 1 crore Kolar Open 2025 being played at the ZION Hills Golf County located near Kolar in Karnataka Punebased Udayan Mane 7367 who shot a 73 in round one to be tied 24th and five off the lead made a strong comeback on day two with a 67 that moved his total to fourunder 140 Manes score of 67 on yet another blustery day broke the previous course record of 68 set by Honey Baisoya in round one on TuesdayThe second round could not be completed on Wednesday as there was a heavy downpour from 1715 hrs local time onwards that forced the suspension of play Thirtyone players out of a total of 120 are yet to complete their second round They will resume play at 0700 hrs local time on Thursday The third round will not commence before 0900 hrs on ThursdayGurugrams Dhruv Sheoran was fourunder for the day and errorfree through 15 holes as his total also read fourunder 140 same as the clubhouse leader UdayanChandimandirs Umed Kumar put together an eagle five birdies and a bogey over 15 holes to be sixunder for the day with his total standing at threeunderDhruv and Umed could be the challengers to Udayans lead when the duo resumes their second round on Thursday morningNepals Subash Tamang 69 and Chandigarhs Jairaj Singh Sandhu 70 were tied second in the clubhouse as they ended the day with totals of threeunder 141Delhis Shaurya Bhattacharya was fourth in the clubhouse at twounder 142 having shot a 72 on day twoUdayan Mane last weeks runnerup and currently fourth in the PGTI Order of Merit started the second round from the backnine where he produced four birdies to make his way up the leaderboard Mane nearly drove the Par4 15th green and made some quality up and downs for his birdies on the backnineThe 34yearold Udayan looking to end a fouryearlong title drought dropped two bogeys on the frontnine but also delivered an eagle on the Par5 second hole thanks to a great second shot and a birdie from 15 feet on the closing ninth hole to stay ahead of the restMane said This being a new course on the tour all of us professionals are still figuring out a lot of things here like where to miss the green what shape is required for a particular pin position etcThe moment you think about the hazards and the out of bounds its not easy to make the perfect shot I managed to close out all those thoughts today and as a result managed a good score IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-udayan-mane-seizes-clubhouse-lead-with-course-record-67-on-rain-affected-second-day-634649.html Wed, 27 Aug 2025 22:15:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-amateur-mannat-brar-holds-first-round-lead-at-the-12th-leg-of-wpgt-634610.html Hosur Aug 27 Amateur Mannat Brar struck a purple patch in the middle of the opening round with four birdies in a row and captured the first round lead in the 12th Leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Clover Greens Playing in the Rs15 lakhs purse event Mannat shot 2under 70 for the only under par round of the day Mannat who was Tiedeighth last week in the 11th Leg at Prestige Golfshire was two shots clear of the trio comprising Kriti Chowhan Jasmine Shekar and Ananya Garg all of whom shot even par 72Mannat opened with a birdie and then dropped shots on the fourth and the sixth to go to 1over She then produced four birdies in a row from the ninth to 12th The birdie run stopped as she had five pars in a row but unfortunately closed with a bogey at the tricky Par3 18thKriti looking for her maiden win on the Hero WPG Tour birdied the second and the third but gave back both those shots on the seventh and the eighth She parred her last 10 holes for her 72Jasmine a multiple winner on the Tour had an early birdie on the fifth and then three in a row from the 11th to the 13th She bogeyed the eighth ninth 14th and the 16th for a par scoreAnanya also in the hunt for her first pro title had three birdies against three bogeysAnother amateur Aaradhya Shetty and pro Rhea Jha carded 1over 73 each to occupy the fifth placeLast weeks runnerup amateur Lavanya Gupta who is due to attend college in the US soon and four others amateur Diya C Patil Karishma Govind Ravjot K Dosanjh and Ananya Datar were tied for seventh place with scores of 2over 74 each Lavanya had a good start with birdies on the second and the third but was unable to keep the momentum going Overall she had three birdies against five bogeysAmong the wellknown names having a tough time on the first day were Ladies European Tour players Amandeep Drall 75 and Seher Atwal 75 at Tied12th Sneha Singh 76 at 18th Ridhima Dilawari 77 at T19 and Rhea Purvi Saravanan 79 at T23The 12th leg is one of the last few events ahead of the Hero Womens Indian Open in October It will also decide which players make the grade for the international event IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-amateur-mannat-brar-holds-first-round-lead-at-the-12th-leg-of-wpgt-634610.html Wed, 27 Aug 2025 18:57:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/kolar-open-2025-honey-baisoya-sets-the-mark-at-four-under-on-opening-day-634444.html Kolar Karnataka Aug 26 Honey Baisoya set the mark at fourunder 68 on the opening day of the INR 1 crore Kolar Open 2025 as the PGTI made its debut at a new venue the ZION Hills Golf County located near here Baisoya who hails from the DLF Golf amp Country Club Gurugram took a twoshot lead and established the course record at the new venue thanks to his firstround effort in gusty conditionsThe 29yearold Baisoya a seventime winner on the PGTI in the past was the clubhouse leader as the first round could not be completed on Tuesday due to the fading light Eight players out of a total of 126 are yet to complete round oneFour players were bunched in tied second in the clubhouse with scores of twounder 70 The quartet included Tapendra Ghai from Gurugram Delhis Shaurya Bhattacharya Mumbai lad Aryaman Aditya Mohan and Sri Lankan K PrabagaranChandigarhs Angad Cheema a multipletime winner this year and last weeks runnerup Udayan Mane of Pune struck scores of 73 to be placed tied 24th Arjun Prasad of Delhi currently second on the PGTI Order of Merit returned a 76 to be tied 46thBaisoya currently placed 16th in the PGTIs merit list with four top10s in the season including a runnerup finish scored a birdie and two bogeys over his first eight holes till the 17thBaisoyas round then took flight with his 12foot eagle conversion on the 18th He followed that up with three more birdies till the fifth hole and a 35foot eagle conversion on the sixth He finally closed the day with threeputt bogeys on the eighth and ninthBaisoya said Playing at this course for the first time I would say since the fairways on the backnine are narrower compared to the frontnine the key here is to negotiate the fairways well on the backnine especially when the wind is upI feel my day changed for the better after I made a great recovery from the hazard to make a bogey on the 17th I had a good run thereafter picking up seven shots on the next seven holesI feel Ive been playing well and have been very consistent since my runnerup finish in Delhi in April this year After a good start in tough conditions Ill look to build on the foundation from here on he said IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/kolar-open-2025-honey-baisoya-sets-the-mark-at-four-under-on-opening-day-634444.html Tue, 26 Aug 2025 23:20:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-signs-off-with-t-13-finish-as-fleetwood-wins-tour-championship-634005.html tlanta Aug 25 IndianAmerican Akshay Bhatia closed his season on a high note at the Tour Championship carding a composed 2under 68 in the final round to secure a share of 13th place at East Lake Golf Club The 22yearold who squeezed into the season finale as the last qualifier at No 30 in the FedEx Cup standings showcased once again that he belongs among the sports eliteWhile Bhatia finished strongly the spotlight belonged to Tommy Fleetwood On a dramatic final day the Englishman finally shed the label of best player without a PGA Tour win by capturing not only his longawaited maiden PGA Tour victory but also the FedEx Cup crownFleetwood sealed the double with a steady 2under 68 completing the week at 18underpar for a threestroke triumph over Patrick Cantlay and Russell HenleyFleetwood tied with Cantlay entering the final round showed remarkable composure under pressure His round featured birdies on the second sixth seventh 12th and 13th offset by bogeys at the fifth 10th and 15th Crucially he parred the closing stretch to clinch his breakthrough winThe 34yearold also lifted two trophies the FedEx Cup and the iconic Calamity Jane replica putter along with a USD 10 million prizeCantlay his nearest challenger stumbled early with a bogey and double bogey while World No 1 Scottie Scheffler saw his hopes vanish after finding water on the 15th Rory McIlroy finished tied for 23rd with a closing 70 Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley in contention for much of the day settled for a tie for seventh after a 70 leaving him with the decision of whether to use one of his six captains picks on himselfWorld No 1 Scottie Scheffler hit his opening tee shot out of bounds but stayed a big threat till his tee shot went into the water on the 15th Rory McIlroy 70 ended Tied23rdFor Bhatia the week was a statement of consistency and resilience His final round featured backtoback birdies on the third and fourth holes a setback on the fifth then a brilliant threebirdie run from the sixth to the eighth A bogey at the ninth left him 3under at the turn On the inward stretch he strung together seven pars before a costly double bogey on the 17th He closed with a birdie on the 18th to finish 10under overall pocketing USD 570000Fleetwoods longawaited victory marked the end of years of near misses and heartbreaks including recent late collapses at the Travelers Championship and the FedEx St Jude Championship With the monkey finally off his back the Englishman now turns his attention to chasing a maiden Major title in 2026 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-signs-off-with-t-13-finish-as-fleetwood-wins-tour-championship-634005.html Mon, 25 Aug 2025 12:18:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/avani-and-sneha-make-decent-starts-at-hills-open-in-sweden-633741.html Gothenburg Swede Aug 23 Avani Prashanth produced a birdiebirdie finish to shoot oneover 72 and was tied21st after the first day at the Hills Open firing fourunderpar 67 at Hills Golf amp Sports Club Also tied at 21st was Sneha Singh 72 and the two were the best among the seven who teed off this week in windy and testing conditionsNew Zealands Momoka Kobori led the way in the opening round firing fourunderpar 67 and she was one ahead of seven players who shared the second placeAmong the other Indians Hitaashee Bakshi playing in the same group as Sneha shot 74 and was Tied48 while Pranavi Urs 76 was Tied71st Amandeep Drall 77 at T86 Tvesa Malik 79 at T107 and Vani Kapoor 82 at T123 were way behindAvani starting from the first had a rough start with three bogeys against one birdie in the first six holes She rallied well with a string of eight pars Another bogey on the 15th made it 3over for her but she birdied the last two holes for a respectable 72 in tough conditionsSneha had four birdies against five bogeys in her 72The 26yearold Kobori set the early pace with a steady front nine with one birdie on the sixth hole but put on an impressive show on the back nine with three straight birdies on 11 12 and 13 She then dropped a shot on 14 but bounced back with a birdie on the next holeA total of seven players sit in a tie for second place including three players from Sweden who all fired opening rounds of 68 3 This included Swede amateur Meja Ortengren compatriots Linda Wessberg and Lisa Pettersson Norways Madelene Stavnar Englands Alice Hewson Frances Nastasia Nadaud and Spains Luna Sobron GalmesOne shot further back are a total of three players who all sit in a tie for ninth place on twounder par including Australias Maddison HinsonTolchard Wales Darcey Harry and Swedens Ingrid LindbladThe field has 132 players who will play the 54hole stroke play event which has a purse of Euro 300000 at the 6064 yard course at Hills Club IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/avani-and-sneha-make-decent-starts-at-hills-open-in-sweden-633741.html Sat, 23 Aug 2025 14:49:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/indian-american-bhatia-tied-seventh-at-tour-championship-633745.html Atlanta Aug 23 Akshay Bhatia rode a fivehole stretch with four birdies in the middle of the round as he added 3under 67 to his first 66 to get to 7under at the Tour Championship Bhatia parred seven holes and then birdied the seventh with an eightfoot putt He holed a 22footer on the 11th and then two 13footer for birdies on the 12th and the 13th to get to 4underBacktoback bogeys on the 13th and the 14th set him back but he closed the day with two good shots to 28 feet and twoputted for a birdie on the par5 18thTommy Fleetwood had eight birdies in his round of 7under 63 to share the lead Friday with Russell Henley 66 at the topFleetwood is searching for his first PGA Tour win to go along with a string of DP World Tour titles as he moved to 13under in the tight race for the USD 10 million prize as the winner this week wins two trophies the FedExCup and the Calamity Jane replica putter that serves as the Tour Championship trophyHenley had another birdiebirdie finish for a 66 to join him in a share of the lead at 13under 127 which was extraordinarily low scoringThere has been a lot of heavy rain at East Lake and the tee times forward to avoid a stoppage in play Greens are soft they run true and preferred lies are in place making them perfect for low scoringCameron Young boosted his Ryder Cup hopes with a 62 and he was two shots behindPatrick Cantlay the FedExCup champion from 2021 shot 30 on the back nine and had a birdiebirdieeagle finish He shot 66 and was three behind along with BMW Championship runnerup Robert MacIntyreScottie Scheffler hit a wedge to a foot on the final hole for a 69 which while not being among his best did extend his streak of 19 consecutive rounds under par He was five backHenley opened the round by holing out from a bunker for birdie and he played the slope on the green from the bunker on the 18th for a closing birdieThe new format being used this year sees the top 30 players start at even instead of the top seed getting a twoshot lead and the bottom five players starting 10 shots behind IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/indian-american-bhatia-tied-seventh-at-tour-championship-633745.html Sat, 23 Aug 2025 15:38:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/rookie-iwai-leads-by-two-strokes-at-canadian-womens-open-633476.html Toronto Aug 22 Four days after capturing her maiden LPGA Tour title at the Portland Classic Japanese rookie Akie Iwai picked up where she left off on Thursday carding a sevenunder 64 to take a twostroke lead in the opening round of the Canadian Womens Open The 23yearold was flawless in opening with a bogeyfree round at Mississauga Golf and Country Club a course located 26 kilometres west of downtown TorontoAphrodite Deng Tiexin a 15yearold ChineseCanadian ranked 22nd in the World Amateur Golf Rankings shot fiveunder 66 to sit equal second with American Megan Khang Mexican Gaby Lopez Irelands Leona Maguire and Thai Jeeno Thitikul who ended Nelly Kordas 71week run at the top of the world rankings earlier this month reports XinhuaSouth Korean Joo Soobin was seventh on 67 at the 26 million US dollar championshipLiu Yan was the top Chinese as the Xiamen native got to sixunder to briefly lead the tournament through 11 holes but she could not hold it in dropping four strokes over the last six holes to finish on twounder 69Other Chinese scores included Yin Xiaowen 71 Liu Yiyi 72 Zhang Yahui 72 Liu Yu 72 Liu Ruixin 73 Wang Xinying 74 and Zhang Weiwei 76Iwai started her day from the back nine and came out firing with backtoback birdies to begin her round After making the turn at threeunder 33 she closed with four birdies over her last six holes including two straight to finishToday I was able to focus well and my swing was in good tempo Thats why I got many birdie chances said the world No 24 Last week I won but already its in the past Thats why I was changing the mind with good focus this weekThitikul 22 who is topranked for the second time in her career also started from the back nine and got off to a good start with a birdie two at her first hole After making the turn at even par the Ratchaburi native picked it up on her back nine in reeling off five birdies in the hunt for her third win of the yearPlaying in her first tournament since being elevated to the world No 1 Thitikul said she was treating her round just like another day at workI am not going to lie saying Im not thinking about that but to be honest I just told myself you can think about it You can be worried You can be nervous But at the end of the day youve got to pass this as wellDeng who last month became the first Canadian to win the US Girls Championship looked right at home among her professional peers in her LPGA Tour debut as she opened with backtoback birdies before picking up further strokes at the fifth and seventh holes to make the turn at fourunder 31The teenager whose parents come from Shenyang would drop her only stroke of the day with a bogey five at the parfour 15th hole before rebounding with birdies over the final two holesToday my putting was really good and my short game too said Deng who took up golf five years ago The Calgary native admitted to looking up at the leaderboard a few times during her round I thought it was pretty cool to see myself tied for the early lead but I just knew I had to keep the same game planChinas topranked golfer Yin Ruoning was on the preliminary list to play this week but as the tournament drew nearer she was not on the field list Tournament officials gave no reason for the absence of the world No 5 only saying players will select which tournaments they play to fit within their schedule IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/rookie-iwai-leads-by-two-strokes-at-canadian-womens-open-633476.html Fri, 22 Aug 2025 11:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-yuvraj-sandhu-shoots-extraordinary-61-stretches-lead-to-three-shots-at-players-cship-633373.html Hosur Tamil Nadu Aug 21 Yuvraj Sandhu of Chandigarh shot an extraordinary 10under 61 his best score in two years to stretch his lead to three strokes after round three of the Rs 1 crore PGTI Players Championship 2025 being played at the Clover Greens Golf Course amp Resort near here on Thursday The 28yearold Yuvraj 636761 the current PGTI Order of Merit leader who is staring at his fourth title of the season and second in two weeks totalled 22under 191 for three daysOlympian Udayan Mane 676562 of Pune who was overnight tied second struck a nineunder 62 on Thursday to move into sole second position at 19under 194 Delhis Kshitij Naveed Kaul 686764 came up with a 64 in the penultimate round to move up one spot into third position at 14under 199Teenage amateur Veer Ganapathy of Bengaluru returned a 63 to be placed tied sixth at 11under 202Yuvraj Sandhu who will be looking to become wiretowire champion for the second week in succession extended his overnight twoshot lead by another shot with the help of a tournament low of 61 that was punctuated by five birdies each on the frontnine and backnineSandhus errorfree round featured two drives that found the greens on Par4 holes two 12foot conversions two terrific nineiron approach shots and a couple of quality up and downsYuvraj said It was all about continuing the momentum from the previous rounds I finally broke nineunder after almost two years so thats a big personal achievement for me as it was something I had been aiming to doThe game is trending in a good way I feel comfortable while standing on the ball and am quite confident with the putter I worked a lot on my drivers clubfitting with my coach Gurbaaz Mann during the offseason That seems to be paying off as my driving form has also been topnotch I would now love to sign off on a high after three weeks on the PGTI before heading to the Asian Tour next weekUdayan Manes third round of 62 was highlighted by a 16foot eagle conversion on the 12th along with seven other birdies The 34yearold Mane searching for his first win in four years also sank a 40footer on the 17th and drove the Par4 15th green to set up birdies IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-yuvraj-sandhu-shoots-extraordinary-61-stretches-lead-to-three-shots-at-players-cship-633373.html Thu, 21 Aug 2025 18:39:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/yuvraj-sandhu-continues-hot-streak-with-opening-round-63-for-lead-at-pgti-players-championship-632971.html Hosur Aug 19 Chandigarhs Yuvraj Sandhu the PGTI Order of Merit leader and last weeks winner in Mysuru continued his hot streak with his opening round effort of eightunder 63 that gave him the lead at the INR 1 crore PGTI Players Championship 2025 being played at the Clover Greens Golf Course amp Resort near Hosur in Tamil Nadu The trio consisting of Nepals Subash Tamang Delhis Shaurya Bhattacharya and Hyderabads Milind Soni shot scores of sevenunder 64 at the Par71 course to occupy tied second positionMohd Azhar of Hyderabad was placed fifth at 65 while Bengalurubased teenaged amateur Veer Ganapathy was placed tied sixth at 66As PGTI made its debut at Clover Greens most of the professionals were playing their first ever competitive round at the picturesque venue Yuvraj Sandhu also making his first visit to Clover Greens outperformed all the others on day one in overcast cool and extremely windy conditions as the temperature hovered between 20 to 24 degrees celsiusYuvraj a threetime winner this season on the PGTI mastered the treelined narrow fairways and the wind by producing three birdies on the backnine and then adding an eagle and four birdies at the cost of a solitary bogey on the frontnineThe 28yearold Sandhus round was highlighted by a 20feet eagle conversion on the second a drive that found the Par4 13th green and two terrific up and downs one from the hazard and one from the rough for birdiesYuvraj said Ive started really enjoying playing in such gusty conditions I feel I thrive in these situations Like I said last week Ive developed my skills of playing in these conditions with all my experience of playing in AsiaIts also great to lead in my very first round at a venue just like last week in Mysuru Clover Greens is a short track but it has a lot of challenges to offer courtesy its narrow treelined fairways and the pot bunkers Fortunately I played the ProAm couple of days back with the owner of the course Mr Austin Roach who gave me a good insight into the challenges posed by this course That was very helpful for meSubash Tamang the 2023 All India Amateur champion mixed eight birdies with a bogey on day one His accurate approach shots left him six birdie putts within a range of four feetShaurya Bhattacharya and Milind Soni who were both tied second along with Tamang produced two eagles each during their rounds of 64 Shaurya a winner this year chippedin for his eagle on the 12th and came up with a fabulous second shot from 190 yards to leave himself a tapin for eagle on the second hole IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/yuvraj-sandhu-continues-hot-streak-with-opening-round-63-for-lead-at-pgti-players-championship-632971.html Tue, 19 Aug 2025 22:59:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/vibhu-tyagi-tops-deaflympics-golf-selection-trials-631702.html Greater Noida Aug 12 Maharashtras Vibhu Tyagi has emerged victorious at the Deaflympics Selection Trials 2025 securing the top spot among male participants after two intense rounds of golf at the Jaypee Greens Golf Course With a total score of 168 24 over par over two days Tyagi led the leaderboard under tough playing conditions marked by heat humidity and gusty winds The selection trials were conducted by the All India Sports Council of the Deaf AISCD under the guidance of the Indian Golf Union The event brought together six determined athletes including one female participant showcasing the growing inclusivity in Indian sports for the hearingimpaired communityHarsh Singh from Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarhs Jastar Singh Billing took the second and third places respectively The trials were a crucial step in identifying Indias golfing contingent for the Deaflympics 2025 set to take place in Tokyo later this yearThe trials began with a warm welcome from IGU Treasurer Sanjeev Rattan who along with AISCD Chairman Mohinder Singh addressed and encouraged the participants Other important dignitaries present were project manager Somesh Sharma and technical director badminton Smt Sonu Anand SharmaThe selection trials were conducted in a fair and transparent manner Despite the small field the competition was fierce and the players delivered consistent performances across both rounds I would like to thank the Indian Golf Union for its guidance I would also like to express my best wishes for the winners as well as other participants As our Prime Minister Narendra Modi says Jo khele who khile all these special athletes are privileged to have the opportunity to represent the country at the top level AISCD Chairman Mohinder Singh saidUnfortunately one of the participants Ishant S Shikare was disqualified after Round 1 due to a breach of Rule 33b of the 2023 Rules of Golf The tournament committee after a comprehensive review decided that it was in the interest of maintaining fairness and integrity in the selection process IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/vibhu-tyagi-tops-deaflympics-golf-selection-trials-631702.html Tue, 12 Aug 2025 18:25:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/igu-sends-four-member-team-for-inaugural-apgc-mid-amateur-championship-631483.html Tangerang Indonesia Aug 11 Indian Golf Union has sent a fourmember team to Indonesia to compete in the firstever MidAmateur Championship organised by the AsiaPacific Golf Confederation in association with the Indonesia Golf Association Led by current IGU AllIndia MidAmateur champion Ranjit Singh the Indian team comprising Arjun Singh Simarjeet Singh and Col Varoon Parmar will participate in the prestigious event at the Graham Marshdesigned Gading Raya Golf Club in Tangerang Indonesia from August 1214The MidAmateur Championship will be staged in four age divisions Group A aged 25 to 29 Group B aged 30 to 37 Group C aged 38 to 46 and Group D aged 47 and above and is open to men who have Amateur Status in accordance with the RampA guidelinesThe tournament will be played in individual strokeplay format over 54 holes A total of 80 golfers from 20 countries will be battling it out for the coveted trophyCol Varoon Parmar who won gold at the World Military Games 2025 and finished runnerup in the IGU AllIndia MidAmateur Championship bolsters the Indian team with his presence Simarjeet who won the IGU AllIndia MidAmateur Golf Championship in 2022 apart from clinching multiple national titles on previous occasions is also in the team ranksSharing his excitement for competing in the prestigious event Ranjit Singh said I have represented India for many years and I am eternally grateful to the Indian Golf Union for sending me for this prestigious event It is the first such MidAmateur Championship being organised by the AsiaPacific Golf Confederation and I am happy to be part of the first such Indian team to be competing in it The Gading Raya course is in pristine shape but there is likelihood of rain for the next three days so adapting to the conditions become essentialIGU director general Maj Gen Retd Bibhuti Bhushan said The IGU has sent a strong team to Indonesia for the inaugural APGC MidAmatear Championship The tournament serves our purpose of fostering camaraderie and the spirit of patriotism among the team members Being contested among more than 20 countries it also gives an opportunity to the Indian team to test their skills and play for the Tricolour IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/igu-sends-four-member-team-for-inaugural-apgc-mid-amateur-championship-631483.html Mon, 11 Aug 2025 16:35:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-finishes-t-6-at-st-jude-championship-climbs-to-fedex-cup-top-30-631492.html Memphis Aug 11 Akshay Bhatia delivered a steady final round to claim a share of sixth place at the St Jude Championship boosting his FedEx Cup ranking into the Top 30 and keeping his Tour Championship hopes alive Bhatia closed with a 1under 69 on Sunday at TPC Southwind capping a week that began with a dazzling 8under 62 in the opening round His fourday total of 10under par left him six shots behind eventual champion Justin Rose who outlasted JJ Spaun in a playoffBhatias round featured strong early momentum with birdies at the second and third holes on Sunday followed by another on the ninth Bogeys at the seventh and 17th prevented a bigger climb but his tie for sixth was enough to move him 16 places up the standings from 45th to 29th the secondlargest jump of the weekThe finish guarantees the 22yearold a spot in next weeks BMW Championship and secures his place in all 20 million Signature Events in 2026 Maintaining a Top30 FedExCup position would earn him a second straight appearance at the Tour ChampionshipRose 45 produced a late surge with four straight birdies from the 14th to the 17th to post a finalround 67 and force extra holes with Spaun The Englishman sealed his 12th PGA Tour title and 24th worldwide victory with a birdie on the third playoff hole vaulting him from 25th to fourth in the FedExCup standings and into the worlds top 10Spaun who closed with a 65 matched Rose in regulation thanks to a clutch birdie on the 17th He also drained in a 30footer on the second extra hole before Rose ultimately prevailedTommy Fleetwood seeking his first PGA Tour win held a twoshot lead with three holes to play but faltered with a bogey on the 17th and a missed opportunity on the 18th to finish one stroke outside the playoffFleetwood tied for third with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler who has now posted 12 consecutive topeight finishes dating back to MarchOther notables included Rickie Fowler whose tie for sixth secured his advancement and Kurt Kitayama Jhonattan Vegas and JT Poston all of whom played their way into the Top 50 Aaron Rai finished T22 but fell short of advancing ending the season ranked 53rdThe Top 50 players in the standings are now locked in for all Signature Events next season The playoffs continue next week at the BMW Championship where only the Top 30 will move on to the seasonending Tour Championship IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-finishes-t-6-at-st-jude-championship-climbs-to-fedex-cup-top-30-631492.html Mon, 11 Aug 2025 17:06:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-dagar-secures-top-20-finish-at-london-championship-631512.html London Aug 11 Indias Diksha Dagar produced a mixed performance on the final day of the London Championship at the Centurion Club ultimately securing a tied19th finish Playing on the Ladies European Tour LET the 23yearold showcased moments of brilliance but also faced challenges that kept her from climbing higher on the leaderboard Dagar started her round with confidence notching three birdies on the front nine Her precision iron play and steady putting suggested she might make a late surge into the top 10 However the back nine told a different story Between the 11th and 14th holes she surrendered all the gains she had made dropping crucial shots that halted her momentumWith rounds of 70 73 and 73 at the par73 Centurion Club Dagar finished the tournament threeunderpar 216 Despite the late slip her performance was enough to maintain her position at 12th on the LETs Order of MeritFor Dagar the week was another step in a season marked by consistency While the missed opportunity on the back nine may sting her ability to stay within the top 20 against a strong international field highlights her growing stature in the gameTwo other Indian golfers Aditi Ashok and Pranavi Urs also made the cut but finished further down the leaderboard Aditi an Olympian delivered rounds of 73 74 and 72 to end the event at even par and tied for 34th place Pranavi still early in her professional career posted scores of 75 71 and 75 concluding at twooverpar in a tie for 44th Avani Prashanth meanwhile was unable to progress past the cut lineThe championship belonged to Germanys Laura Fünfstück who held her nerve to claim a narrow onestroke victory Starting the final round with a threeshot lead Fünfstück faced early adversity going threeover through her first four holes Yet she mounted a remarkable recovery producing a composed and aggressive back nine to close out her round A tapin birdie on the 18th sealed her maiden LET title at 10underparEcuadors Daniela Darquea made the days biggest move with a brilliant fiveunder 68 securing outright second place at nineunderpar Fivetime LET winner Anne Van Dam surged into solo third after a dramatic eagle on the final hole finishing at eightunderSeven players shared fourth place at sevenunder including Olivia Cowan Adela Cernousek Alice Hewson LeeAnne Pace Mimi Rhodes Kim Metraux and Manon De RoeyThe LET will now take a oneweek break before heading to Sweden for the Hills Open at the Hills Golf amp Sports Club scheduled for August 2224 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-dagar-secures-top-20-finish-at-london-championship-631512.html Mon, 11 Aug 2025 18:49:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-fights-back-to-even-par-lies-13th-in-london-631310.html London Aug 10 Diksha Dagar survived a rollercoaster on the back nine to card an even par 73 in the second round of the PIF London Championship held at Centurion Club Diksha who has had a series of Top10s this season is now Tied13th after being Tied10th at the end of the first day Of the four Indian women who teed up this week three made the cut The other two were Pranavi Urs and Aditi AshokPranavi 7571 was even par for two days at the Par73 Centurion Club and was Tied28th Aditi Ashok 7374 was T37 at 1over for two rounds Rookie Avani Prashanth 7676 missed the cut The cut fell at 3 with 65 players making it through to the final day of action at Centurion ClubDiksha birdied the first and the sixth with a bogey in between on the third to turn in 1under On the back nine she dropped a shot on the 10th and then gave away a double bogey on the Par4 12th The gritty golfer who has set her eyes on her National title the Womens Indian Open birdied the 13th and the 16th to recover to even par 73In the Individual competition Germanys Laura Funfstuck fired a round of 70 3 on day two to hold a threeshot lead heading into the final day The German started with a birdie at the first before rolling in three birdies in four holes on the sixth eighth and ninthA dropped shot on 15 was followed by an excellent parsave on 16 before another dropped shot on 17 but she finished in style with a birdie at the last to reach nineunderparFour players are in a share of second place with Spains Carlota Ciganda Belgiums Manon De Roey Frances Perrine Delacour and South Africas Casandra Alexander all on sixunderparEnglands Cara Gainer and Switzerlands Chiara Tamburlini are in a tie for sixth place on fiveunderpar with five players one shot further back in T8Team Du Toit secured a onestroke victory winning with a total of 29underpar at the PIF London Championship held at Centurion ClubDiksha in Team Nadaud finished seventh and Avani Prashanth was in Team Briem which was also tied seventh Aditi led the team which had Pranavi and they were 21stThe quartet of Danielle Du Toit Sarah Kemp Marta Sanz Barrio and Megan Dennis began the day in a share of 11th place on 13underparThey began the day on the 10th tee and it didnt take long for some putts to drop as they made the turn in 10under for the day thanks to eagles from Du Toit and Sanz BarrioOn their back nine it was a steadier pace but they remained in contention and Du Toit and Dennis rolled in putts at the last to climb to the top of the leaderboard and seal victoryIt was a remarkable turnaround for South Africas Du Toit who had teed it up on the LET Access Series earlier this week and then withdrew to fly to London to be first reserveFollowing Charley Hulls withdrawal due to injury Du Toit was drafted into the competition and ended up captaining the quartet to victory IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-fights-back-to-even-par-lies-13th-in-london-631310.html Sun, 10 Aug 2025 21:23:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-lies-sixth-a-st-jude-championship-631315.html Memphis USA Aug 10 Akshay Bhatia fired a modest even par 70 to be tied sixth and five off the lead after three days at the FedEx St Jude Championship Bhatia 22 a twotime winner on the PGA Tour now has rounds of 626970 and is 9under and still in the picture for a good finish in the first of three FedExCup Playoff events Bhatia the Hero golfer who set the course alight with a 62 on the first day had two birdies and two bogeys on the third day as Tommy Fleetwood survived some hiccups on way to a 1under 69 but stayed in sole lead at 14under Fleetwood looking for his first win on the PGA Tour now has rounds of 636469Fleetwood leads veteran Justin Rose 646667 a 13under by one shot as Scottie Scheffler 676665 lurks close behind at 12under in third placeIndoBritish Aaron Rai 706968 is T30 as he tries to move into Top50 from 55th to make the next Playoffs eventBhatia birdied the second and the 17th but gave away shots on the seventh and the 18thhad a threeshot swing go against him early and a twoshot swing cost him on the final hole Saturday in the FedEx St Jude ChampionshipHe did enough right in between for a 1under 69 and a oneshot lead over Justin Rose as he goes for his first PGA TOUR titleIf that wasnt enough Scottie Scheffler had a huge presence only two shots backStill those two holes were a reminder to Fleetwood that 18 holes can feel a long way off at the TPC Southwind There figures to be plenty of pressure at the top and scattered among the rest of the field trying to advance in the FedExCup PlayoffsFleetwood started the third round with a threeshot lead over Rose who had to finish his stormdelayed second round in the morningOn the par5 third Fleetwoods second shot came up short and into the water He took his penalty drop and then hit wedge over the green into a bunker Fleetwood said he noticed his golf ball move ever so slightly on his swing with the wedgeRules officials could not determine if it did because it was so slight and Fleetwood didnt cause it So no penalty was issued He made double bogey and Rose ran off three straight birdies to take the leadFleetwood rebounded to build back he lead to three shots but on the 18th hole he drove into the rough couldnt reach the green and made bogey to finish at 14under 196Rose had four birdies between the third and the seventh and then at the end had two each of bridies and bogeys in the last five in his 67Scheffler put together six birdies in his round of 65 and was two shots behind He made his lone bogey on the 10thScheffler is going for his fifth win of the year He has not finished out of the top 10 since MarchUS Open champion JJ Spaun 65 and Andrew Novak 67 were three shots behindAfter this week the top 50 in the FedExCup advance to the second playoff event at the BMW Championship and are assured of playing all the USD 20 million Signature Events next year IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-lies-sixth-a-st-jude-championship-631315.html Sun, 10 Aug 2025 22:00:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-dagar-scripts-a-late-recovery-to-finish-in-top-10-at-london-golf-631168.html London Aug 9 Indian golfer Diksha Dagar displayed remarkable resilience at the PIF London Championship fighting back from a midround setback to finish with a solid 3under 70 in the opening round Her performance placed her Tied10th at the prestigious Ladies European Tour event held at the Centurion Club a par73 course in the UK Dikshas round was highlighted by two birdies in her final four holes helping her recover from an earlier double bogey and secure a strong position heading into the next roundWhile Dagar found her rhythm late in the round the rest of the Indian players had mixed outings with Aditi Ashok posting an evenpar 73 placing her T37 She had four birdies offset by four bogeysPranavi Urs recorded a 75 2 with an eventful round that included five birdies but was marred by three bogeys and two double bogeys landing her at T67Avani Prashanth began steadily with nine pars but finished at 76 3 affected by four bogeys and only one birdie placing her T75At the top of the leaderboard Alexandra Swayne of the US Virgin Islands and Germanys Laura Fünfstück share the lead with impressive rounds of 67 6 each Swaynes round included an eagle on the first six birdies and just one bogey Fünfstück matched her with an eagle five birdies and one dropped shotChiara Tamburlini Switzerland and Carlota Ciganda Spain are tied for third in the individual standings at 5underpar 68 Tamburlini had an exciting round with eight birdies and three bogeysIn the team format Team Nadaud leads with a collective score of 18underpar The flawless performance came from Nastasia Nadaud France Laura Fünfstück Sofie Bringner and Johanna Wrigley the quartet managed to avoid any bogeys throughout the dayTeam Boutier sits just one shot back at 17under with Team Alexander and Team Van Dam tied for third at 16under IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-dagar-scripts-a-late-recovery-to-finish-in-top-10-at-london-golf-631168.html Sat, 09 Aug 2025 21:21:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-shoots-steady-2nd-round-to-stay-second-in-st-jude-championship-631182.html Memphis USA Aug 9 IndianAmerican golfer Akshay Bhatia followed up his careerbest round of 8under 62 with a solid secondround 69 bringing his 36hole total to 9under par at the FedEx St Jude Championship Bhatia is currently tied for second place with Collin Morikawa and Justin Rose trailing leader Tommy Fleetwood by four strokes Fleetwood who shot backtoback rounds of 63 and 64 13under remains at the top of the leaderboard He is seeking his first PGA TOUR win after several close finishes including six runnerup results and 42 top10s since 1983Bhatia a twotime PGA TOUR winner recorded two birdies and a bogey in his opening four holes before playing steady golf with 14 consecutive pars His performance keeps him firmly in the mix going into the weekend in only his second appearance at this event where he finished T12 in 2024Meanwhile World No 1 Scottie Scheffler fresh off his Open Championship win sits at 7under after a secondround 66 despite three bogeys on the back nine He is tied for seventh with Bud Cauley Jacob Bridgeman and Maverick McNealy who had not completed his round due to weather delaysAaron Rai another player of Indian origin carded 70 and 69 putting him at T39 He currently ranks 55th in the FedExCup standings and will need to crack the Top 50 to qualify for the next round of playoffsKurt Kitayama made a big move with a 63 bringing him into the top five and continuing his lateseason surge following his win at the 3M Open Weather disruptions including lightning forced the suspension of play and evacuation of spectators As the tournament heads into the weekend all eyes will be on Bhatia and Fleetwoodone looking to continue his rise the other to finally break throughEarlier Akshay Bhatia was on fire at TPC Southwind carding a careerbest 8under 62 to take the outright lead after the opening round of the 2025 FedEx St Jude Championship the first leg of the PGA Tours FedExCup PlayoffsThe 23yearold Bhatia already a twotime winner on the PGA Tour delivered a stellar performance marked by seven birdies and an eagle against one bogey He made the turn at 4under then picked up another birdie on the 11th before briefly slipping with a bogey at 12 But his finish was spectacularan eagle on the par5 16th followed by backtoback birdies on 17 and 18 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-shoots-steady-2nd-round-to-stay-second-in-st-jude-championship-631182.html Sat, 09 Aug 2025 22:35:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/indian-quartet-diksha-pranavi-aditi-avani-set-for-pif-london-2025-630805.html London Aug 8 The PIF London Championship will witness a strong Indian presence with the participation of Diksha Dagar Pranavi Urs Aditi Ashok and Avani Prashanth The 15 million event holds special significance for Diksha Dagar who was part of the winning team at the 2021 Aramco Team Series in London This achievement made her only the second Indian woman after Aditi Ashok to claim multiple titles on the Ladies European Tour LET That victory represented more than just a trophy it highlighted Indias growing impact in womens golf on the world stageAditi Ashok has secured five LET titles while Diksha boasts two individual wins alongside a team victory in the PIF events formerly known as the Aramco Series Despite missing the cut in the 2024 edition the 24yearold Diksha is determined to make a strong comeback in 2025 She has had an impressive season so far achieving multiple top10 finishes and finishing as runnerup at the Lalla Meryem CupLooking ahead Diksha is also targeting a victory at the Womens Indian Open in October Meanwhile Pranavi Urs who enjoyed a solid 2024 and rookie Avani Prashanth are steadily progressing on the tourDikshas team includes Kirsten Rudgeley Momoka Kobori and Chloe Williams Aditis squad features Pranavi Urs Ursula Wikstrom and Ayako Uehara while Avani teams up with Helen Briem Patricia Isabel Schmidt and Agathe SauzonAditi Ashok who has shifted much of her focus to the LPGA Tour in the United States continues to inspire fellow Indian golfers with her remarkable career on the LET She regularly competes in major LET tournaments such as the PIF London ChampionshipThe tournament will also showcase top international talents adding to its prestige Leading the field is Charley Hull Golf Saudi ambassador and recent runnerup at the AIG Womens Open Joining her are Major champions Georgia Hall and Patty Tavatanakit alongside 2023 Evian Championship winner Celine Boutier and Alison Lee IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/indian-quartet-diksha-pranavi-aditi-avani-set-for-pif-london-2025-630805.html Fri, 08 Aug 2025 01:15:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-akshay-bhatia-fires-career-best-62-to-lead-st-jude-championship-630986.html Memphis USA Aug 8 Akshay Bhatia was on fire at TPC Southwind carding a careerbest 8under 62 to take the outright lead after the opening round of the 2025 FedEx St Jude Championship the first leg of the PGA Tours FedEx Cup Playoffs The 23yearold Bhatia already a twotime winner on the PGA Tour delivered a stellar performance marked by seven birdies and an eagle against one bogey He made the turn at 4under then picked up another birdie on the 11th before briefly slipping with a bogey at 12 But his finish was spectacularan eagle on the par5 16th followed by backtoback birdies on 17 and 18I just felt really in rhythm Bhatia said after the round The course sets up well for my game and once I made that eagle everything clicked I wasnt chasing anything just sticking to my process and got into a great zoneHis bogeyfree 62 not only marks a personal best on Tour but also puts him in a strong position to contend for his firstever playoff victory and a significant leap up the FedExCup standingsOne shot behind is Tommy Fleetwood who closed with four consecutive birdies to shoot 7under 63 The Englishman has been in consistent form all season but is still seeking his elusive first win on the PGA TourThree playersHarry Hall Justin Rose and Bud Cauleyshare third at 6under All three delivered bogeyfree rounds on a Southwind layout that often punishes mistakesWorld No 1 Scottie Scheffler opened his playoff run with a steady 3under 67 Though five shots off the lead Schefflers clean controlled round keeps him within striking distance The twotime major winner this season is widely viewed as a strong favourite in the playoff raceAlso posting 67 was rising Swedish star Ludvig berg who matched Schefflers effort and remains in the huntMeanwhile Aaron Rai of IndoBritish heritage carded an evenpar 70 with two birdies and two bogeys He sits tied for 39th and currently ranks 55th in the FedExCup standings Rai needs to move into the top 50 this week to qualify for next weeks BMW ChampionshipNotably absent from the field is Rory McIlroy who is exercising a new PGA Tour rule that allows top10 players in the standings to skip one playoff event Currently second in FedExCup points McIlroy will return next week and will rely on his seasonlong performance to stay in contention for the Tour ChampionshipThe St Jude Championship kicks off a threeweek sprint to crown the 2025 FedEx Cup Champion Only the top 50 players after this week advance to the BMW Championship with just 30 eventually reaching the Tour Championship at East Lake IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-akshay-bhatia-fires-career-best-62-to-lead-st-jude-championship-630986.html Fri, 08 Aug 2025 20:06:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/coal-india-open-amardeep-malik-surges-ahead-by-two-strokes-in-round-two-630528.html Ahmedabad Aug 6 Amardeep Maliks hot putter helped him surge ahead by two strokes in round two of the Coal India Open being played at the Kensville Golf amp Country Club here on Wednesday The Noidabased Amardeep 6965 returned a card of sevenunder 65 on Wednesday to total 10under 134 for the weekAngad Cheema 6967 of Chandigarh who was the overnight joint leader along with Malik posted a 67 on day two to be placed second at eightunder 136Delhis Shaurya Bhattacharya 7166 shot a 66 on day two to be placed third at sevenunder 137The halfway cut fell at fiveover 149 Fiftythree professionals and one amateur made the cutAmardeep Malik began the day with a 15feet birdie conversion on the 10th He then went on to pick up four more birdies from a range of eight to 20 feet on the backnine Amardeeps hot streak with the putter continued on the frontnine as he sank birdies from 25 feet and a mammoth 50 feet on the first and third holes respectively Malik a twotime winner on the PGTI capped his round with a bogey and birdie on the fifth and sixthAmardeep said I tried to hit the safest shot possible today and as a result found most fairways and greens I guess I also got lucky on the tough greens today as I converted a lot of long putts One has to be careful with the speed because the speed is really tricky on these greens I think sometimes a player gets into a zone where it just feels easyI havent played a lot of golf in the last two and a half months as I recently became a father But Im just glad to be back on the course and competing in the very first event after the resumption of the seasonAngad Cheema who recently played the qualifying event for The Open in the UK came up with a 40feet eagle conversion on the sixth along with five birdies and two bogeysDelhis Rakshit Dahiya 7271 the only amateur in the field made the cut as he was placed an impressive tied 12th at a total of oneunder 143Local lad Varun Parikh 7470 was a further shot back in tied 15th position Varun was the only Ahmedabadbased player to make the cut IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/coal-india-open-amardeep-malik-surges-ahead-by-two-strokes-in-round-two-630528.html Wed, 06 Aug 2025 21:51:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-dagar-tied-28th-at-aig-womens-open-629660.html Porthcawl Wales Aug 2 Diksha Dagar was Tied28th as she shot 1over 73 in the second round to make the cut for the weekend rounds at the AIG Womens Open the final Major of the year for women Diksha 7173 is even par for 36 holes and Tied28th going into the final two rounds She is the only Indian in the field this yearJapans 23yearold Miyu Yamashita 6865 was bogey free in the second round and is the leader at 11underpar through 36 holes and fellow Japanese Rio Takeda 6769 is second at 8under The next group of four players at Tied3rd is far behind at 4underAfter two rounds at Royal Porthcawl 71 players made the cut which fell at twoover parThe weather conditions saw the temperatures change a lot Diksha did well to handle it at the demanding Royal Porthcawl Golf Club She began with two pars but dropped shots on the third and the sixth She recovered with an eagle on the Par5 ninth and turned in even parOn the back nine she bogeyed the tenth but gained birdies on the 12th and the 13th With scoring being difficult she was even sniffing at a Top10 place Then came bogeys on the 14th and the 16th and she did well to ensure there was no more damageA good finish here will set up Diksha well in the second half of the season that is busy and also includes her home event the Hero Womens Indian Open where she has come close to winning and adding to her two wins on the LETDiksha will play the third round with Australian Stephanie Kyriacou who had a hole in one and an eagle in her second round of 70 that also included a run of four bogeys in a rowJapans Rio Takeda is second despite bogeys at the 6th and 10th Four players sit in a tie for third place on fourunder par after 36 holes They included Switzerlands Chiara Tamburlini Germanys Laura Fuenfstueck Thailands Pajaree Anannarukarn and Americas Lindy DuncanThree players sit in a tie for seventh place South Koreas A Lim Kim and Sei Young Kim and Swedens Madelene Sagstrom all finished the second round on threeunder par IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-dagar-tied-28th-at-aig-womens-open-629660.html Sat, 02 Aug 2025 17:49:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/indian-american-akshay-bhatia-comes-close-to-third-pga-tour-win-as-he-shares-lead-at-3m-open-628244.html Blaine USA July 27 Akshay Bhatia shot a careerequalling 8under 63 on the moving day to move in a share for the lead at the 3M Open on the PGA Tour He shared the lead with Denmarks Thorbjorn Olesen who aced the par3 eighth and shot a 4under 67 at the TPC Twin Cities Bhatia a 23yearold IndianAmerican whose parents came from India chipped in twice on way to 63 as he seeks his third PGA TOUR victory in his 90th start with his previous wins being the 2023 Barracuda Championship and the 2024 Valero Texas Open His third round 8under 63 matched his careerlow score which he has shot five times The last time Bhatia played the 3M Open he was T64 in 2024Bhatia No 46 in the FedExCup is attempting to go right up to the Tour Championship as he did in 2024Bhatia said I chipped in twice made a lot of putts A lot of putts lipped in which was really nice to see All in all just a pretty solid round Felt like I did a pretty good job of playing out of the rough today I didnt hit it particularly great off the tee but thankfully greens are soft enough to where you can kind of do thatBhatia who closed 2024 with a fourth place in World Challenge at Tiger Woods tournament has also got three Top10s in 2025 including Tiedthird at the Players He chipped in from 42 feet for birdie on the fifth and from 55 feet for another birdie on 11 Im just trying to play solid golf and hopefully the cards fall my way tomorrow said BhatiaTied for first with Bhatia is Denmarks Thorbjorn Olesen seeking his first PGA Tour win is making his 3M Open debut holds 54hole leadcolead for the first time on the PGA Tour He entered the week No 129 in the FedExCup and the eighttime DP World Tour winner earned PGA Tour membership for the 2025 season after finishing No 7 in the 2024 DP World Tour Top 10 which awards Tour membership to the top 10 finishers in the finalRace to Dubai Rankings not otherwise exemptThe 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard winner Kurt Kitayama recorded a careerlow 11under 60 and T3 at 17under Kitayama also matched the tournament and course record with a 60Also tied third is Takumi Kanaya 65 and seeks to become the sixth player from Japan to win on Tour and second this season after Hideki Matsuyama who won The Sentry titleAlso in a tie for third are Sam Stevens 66 and Jake Knapp 67Lying in a threeway tie for seventh are Chris Gotterup 65 Pierceson Coody 67 and Jesper Svensson 63 at 16under IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/indian-american-akshay-bhatia-comes-close-to-third-pga-tour-win-as-he-shares-lead-at-3m-open-628244.html Sun, 27 Jul 2025 17:49:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-spain-to-host-ryder-cup-for-second-time-in-2031-627454.html Madrid July 23 The Ryder Cup golf tournament which pits Europe against the United States every two years will return to Spain in 2031 the organisers announced on Tuesday A post from the Ryder Cup on social media announced that the competition will be held at Camiral Golf and Wellness located near the city of Girona Spain hosted the Ryder Cup at Valderrama in Andalusia in 1997 with Europe emerging victorious under Seve Ballesteros as captainAs well as being one of the most prestigious competitions in the sporting calendar the Ryder is an exceptional platform to show the capacity Spain has to host important events said Jose Manuel Rodriguez Uribes president of Spains sports councilThe cup is named after the English businessman Samuel Ryder who donated the trophy The event is jointly administered by the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe a joint venture comprising the PGA European Tour 60 the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland 20 and the PGAs of Europe 20Initially started as a contest between Great Britain and the United States it was officially started in the USA in 1927 and has been a permanent fixture since World War IITeams representing Europe and USA compete in fourballs and foursomes besides 12 singles matches to decide the winner the team with maximum points out of the possible 28 points at the end of the threeday competition The two Ryder Cup captains pick their respective teams based on rankings and current formThe 45th edition of the Ryder Cup will be played from September 2528 2025 at the Bethpage Black Course Bethpage State Park Farmingdale USA with Keegan Bradley captaining the American team while Luke Donald will be leading the European TeamEurope won the 44th edition in 2023 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Lazio in Italy with a scoreline of 16 12 v 11 12 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-spain-to-host-ryder-cup-for-second-time-in-2031-627454.html Wed, 23 Jul 2025 01:13:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/aditi-finishes-t-28-as-australian-grace-kim-wins-evian-championship-626040.html AixLesBains France July 14 Aditi Ashok had a weak final round as she shot 73 in the final round at the Evian Championship she shot 2over 73 and ended with a total of 5under 279 finishing T28th It was Aditis secondbest finish at the Evian and came one year after T17 in 2024 Aditi opened with a string of nine pars and then bogeyed four in a row which derailed her hopes of a Top10 after being T12 overnight She managed a minor recovery with birdies on the 17th and the 18th but it was too little too lateAustralias Grace Kim claimed her maiden major title at the Evian Championship after defeating world number two Jeeno Thitikul in a dramatic playoff at Evian Resort Golf ClubThis week Aditi was the only Indian in the field as Diksha Dagar narrowly missed out on making the field but will however play at the AIG Womens Open later this monthBoth players began the day tied for third and posted impressive final rounds of 67 4 Thitikul held the lead for much of the day with two birdies on the front nine but Kims eagle finish forced a playoffOn the first playoff hole at 18 the Aussie found the water which seemed to spell the end for her but responded with a miraculous chipin for birdie arguably the best shot of her career The drama continued as the duo returned to the 18th for a second playoff hole where Kim then finished with her second eagle putt on 18 to take the winThe Aussie took home the USD 12 million prize money She hasnt been feeling well this week feeling the worst yesterday but managed to push through the pain and clinch the titleKim 24 became the third consecutive player to earn her first major at Evian Resort Golf Club joining Ayaka Furue and Celine BoutierThitikul who was leading most of the day came in solo second place where she delivered a flawless final bogeyfree round with four birdies for the last 18 holesOne shot behind was Amateur world number one Lottie Woad who delivered a sensational final round to finish in a tie for third place alongside threetime major champion Minjee LeeEnglands rising star entered this week fresh off her maiden LET victory at the Womens Irish Open and has continued her impressive form this weekComing into this tournament Woad was a sponsor invite and she has now secured 20 points in the LEAP programme which gives you the option to take LPGA membership She is the first player to do this through this new pathwayTwo players were in a tie for fifth place including American duo Angel Yin and Andrea Lee on 12underpar Thailands Ariya Jutanugarn and Irelands Leona Maguire were a further shot behind in T7Englands Cara Gainer the overnight leader finished in T14 after 72 holesThe LET has a week break then will head to Scotland for the Scottish Open taking place at Dundonald Links July 2427 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/aditi-finishes-t-28-as-australian-grace-kim-wins-evian-championship-626040.html Mon, 14 Jul 2025 14:10:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-aditi-ashok-lies-seventh-at-halfway-mark-in-evian-championship-625802.html AixLesBains France July 12  Aditi Ashok stayed in the top10 with another solid round this time 2under 69 to be 6under for 36 holes at The Amundi Evian Championship Aditi who has never had a top10 finish in her previous 34 Major starts has had rounds of 6769 at the Par71 Evian Resort Golf Club this week Aditi lies four shots behind the leader South Koreas Somi Lee 6765 and was on 10under parAditi started from the tenth and two birdies and one bogey on either side of the course She birdied the 11th 17th second and seventh and dropped shots on the 14th and the sixthAditis best showing in a Major came at the 2024 Evian when she was tied17th This is her 19th cut in 35 Major starts the most by any Indian golfer male or female While men have four Majors each year women play five Majors in a yearThis week Aditi is the only Indian in the field as Diksha Dagar narrowly missed out on making the field but will however play at the AIG Womens Open later this monthSomi Lee with an eagle on the 9th hole and six birdies overall sits top of the leaderboard and posted the round of the day at the Evian Resort Golf ClubLee has had recent success at the Dow Championship having holed an eightfoot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to claim victory alongside fellow South Korean Jin Hee ImAustralias Grace Kim was just one shot off the lead after a solid second round carding four birdies for a 68 to stay firmly in contention Kim was among the early starters teeing off at 7 am and she made the most of the calm morning conditionsAmerican Jennifer Kupcho carded a steady 69 to move to eightunderpar placing herself firmly in the mix heading into the weekend at The Amundi Evian ChampionshipFive players are a further shot behind on sixunder par after round two These include Irelands Leona Maguire Thailands Jeeno Thitikul Japans Rio Takeda Indias Aditi Ashok and Australias Gabriela RuffelsAfter 36 holes of action at Evian Resort Golf Club 74 players made the cut which fell at twoover par IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-aditi-ashok-lies-seventh-at-halfway-mark-in-evian-championship-625802.html Sat, 12 Jul 2025 16:30:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-finishes-63rd-as-amateur-lottie-woad-wins-irish-open-624872.html Kildare Ireland July 7 Diksha Dagar who made her 11th cut in succession on the line finished in a nonetoohappy manner with a double bogey in a card of 4over 77 at the 2025 Womens Irish Open at Carton House She ended way down in Tied63rd She had rounds of 75737377 for a 6over total Dikshas teammates Avani Prashanth Tvesa Malik and Hitaashee Bakshi missed the cutAmateur Lottie Woad stormed to a sixshot victory at the 2025 KPMG Womens Irish Open The English star began with day leading by seven strokes after rounds of 686767 on the first three days of action on the OMeara CourseA round of 69 4 was more than enough to seal a maiden Ladies European Tour LET title for the world No1 amateur with a score of 21underpar She won by six shots as Madalene Sagstrom 68 was second at 15underWoad began her day with a birdie at the second before adding another at the fourth She made only her second bogey of the week at the fifth holeHowever the 21yearold soon bounced back with birdies on the eighth and 13th holes She made another bogey on the 15th but then rolled in backtoback birdies on 16 and 17Needing just two points to secure her LPGA Tour membership through the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway LEAP Woad is going to remain an amateur until she has accumulated the 20 points requiredSwedens Madelene Sagström ended the week in outright second place on 15underpar after a final round of 68 5 in Ireland New Zealands Amelia Garvey produced an excellent final day carding a round of 67 6 to seal solo third place on 14underparEnglands Charley Hull was fourth on 12underpar with four players two shots further back as Spains Fatima Fernandez Cano Englands Hannah Screen Switzerlands Chiara Tamburlini and Australias Kirsten Rudgeley were all T5 on 10underNext up for the LET is the fourth Major of the year with the Amundi Evian Championship taking place from July 1013 at Evian Resort Golf Club IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-finishes-63rd-as-amateur-lottie-woad-wins-irish-open-624872.html Mon, 07 Jul 2025 21:36:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-indian-girls-face-tough-task-after-first-round-in-irish-open-624442.html Kildare Ireland July 4 Things were looking bleak for the Indian women golfers as they faced an early exit at the KPMG Irish Open at Carton House on the Ladies European Tour Led by Tvesa Malik who had the best card among the four Indians on the first day with an opening score of 1over 74 none were inside the projected cut line of even par Tvesa was tied 72nd out of a field of 131 players while Diksha Dagar and Avani Prashanth with rounds of 75 each were T91 and Hitaashee Bakshi with 77 was T133This month is stacked full of highprofile Ladies European Tour events and all the Indians will need low scores on the second day if they hope to make the cutThe leaders at the end of the first round were Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland and Blanca Fernandez of Spain The Swiss and Spanish stars shot rounds of 6under 67 to share the lead heading into day twoBoth players had one bogey and seven birdies in their round Tamburlini is currently placed 11th on the Order of Merit and will have a chance to move back into the top 10 if she continues her strong performancesTvesa started her round with a strong front nine with two birdies in the first four holes Her round came undone with the bogey on the 11th and a double bogey on the 16thStarting on the 10th Diksha made one birdie in the round on the first hole her tenth hole but three other bogeys on the fifth sixth and 11th holes of the course hurt her causeAvani made four birdies and four bogeys with one double bogeyHitaashee Bakshi began her round on the back nine and shot three bogeys and two double bogeys by the time she had made it to the front nine Birdies on the fourth sixth and eighth holes helped her reduce the impact of her troubled back nine but still her round of 4over 77 saw her way behind in tied 122ndThe Order of Merit leader Mimi Rhodes ended the first day in tied third along with Hannah Screen Lisa Pettersen Madelene Sagstrom Alexandra Swayne and Lottie Woad an amateur taking part in her first Ladies European Tour event IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-indian-girls-face-tough-task-after-first-round-in-irish-open-624442.html Fri, 04 Jul 2025 22:45:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-tees-off-at-irish-with-sights-on-scottish-and-womens-open--624082.html Kildare Ireland July 2 Diksha Dagar who is currently in the Top10 of the Ladies European Tour will tee up at the Irish Open and has also confirmed her place in the AIG Womens Open the last of the five Majors held each year for women Diksha currently tenth on the Ladies European Tour will also tee up at the ISPA Handa Womens Scottish Open which is also cosanctioned with the LPGA Diksha however did not make the field for the Evian Championship also one of the Majors for women The Scottish Open is set for July 1720 and the Womens Open is from July 2427 at PorthcawlMeanwhile the other Indians in the field at the Irish Open this week include Avani Prashanth Tvesa Malik and Hitaashee BakshiDiksha who sees this weeks Irish Open as part of her preparation for the Scottish Open and the Womens Open said I feel happy and comfortable with my game and certainly look forward to participating in the AIG Womens Open this year Last year didnt go well for me due to certain disturbances In 2023 I finished tied 21st This time I am hoping to do better I am not targeting or setting any specific position but will only focus on preparation and processesDiksha who has her father Col Naren Dagar on the bag added I am working on the aspects of my game strength and power Once I am happy with that I would be hoping and expecting myself to win the Majors To win a Major or Olympics would be very satisfying and fulfilling in my careerDiksha also put the Womens Indian Open in October as another big event for her It is a big event for us and I want to win it she had said after finishing third in 2023In 2025 Diksha has so far had five Top10 finishes including a playoff loss at the Lalla Meryem Cup which was the seasonopener She was also T8 at Joburg Ladies T9 at Womens South African Open T9 at Dutch Ladies and T8 at German Masters IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-tees-off-at-irish-with-sights-on-scottish-and-womens-open--624082.html Wed, 02 Jul 2025 23:43:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-akshay-bhatia-makes-the-cut-on-the-line-in-rocket-classic-623399.html Detroit USA June 28 Three birdies on the back nine helped Akshay Bhatia make the cut on the line at the Rocket Classic on the PGA Tour The IndianAmerican star who is seeking to make the Tour Championship for the second straight year added 2under 70 to his firstround 4under 68 in a lowscoring tournament where the cut came at 6under and 86 players made the weekend Bhatia dropped a shot on the eighth but birdies on the 11th 14th and 15th saw him stay on for the weekendJake Knapp shot an 11under 61 on Friday to break a Rocket Classic record that stood for less than a day and became the first on TOUR to break 60 and shoot a 61 or lower in the same season That still wasnt enough to put him in the top six entering the weekend at the Detroit Golf ClubChris Kirk 65 Philip Knowles 64 and Andrew Putnam 66 share the secondround lead at 14 under Jackson Suber 65 was another shot back Aldrich Potgieter who had a 70 after sharing the 18hole lead with Kevin Roy after both shot a recordsetting 62 and Mark Hubbard were another stroke behind the leaderKnapp was in a large pack of players including Collin Morikawa 64 Hideki Matsuyama 66 and Roy 71 three shots off the lead going into the third round The 31yearold Knapp who won the Mexico Open last year as a rookie started the second round 130th in the 156player field after opening with a 72 He surged into contention with nine birdies and an eagle in a bogeyfree roundKnapp ranked No 99 in the world is the only player on TOUR to shoot 61 or better in two rounds this season He shot a 59 one off the tour scoring record of 58 set by Jim Furyk in 2016 at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches four months ago when he broke the tournament scoring record before cooling off and tying for sixth Knapp broke the 18hole record at Detroit Golf Club that was set Thursday in the first round when Potgieter and Roy both shot a 62 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-akshay-bhatia-makes-the-cut-on-the-line-in-rocket-classic-623399.html Sat, 28 Jun 2025 20:32:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/german-masters-diksha-dagar-and-vani-kapoor-in-top-10-623350.html Hamburg June 28 Diksha Dagar and Vani Kapoor were the pick of the Indians at the Amundi German Masters after the second day With Avani Prashanth also making the cut three of the nine Indians who teed up this week at the Green Eagle Golf Course Diksha played an even par round to slip from the top five but was inside Top10 at tied 8th in the standings as Vani played 3under 70 to move into the top 10 and she is also placed at tied 8thThe only other Indian to make the cut was Avani Prashanth who played a round of 1over 74 to end the day at tied 43 Prashanth made two birdies one bogey and one double bogeyTvesa Malik 7476 missed the cut by one shot as the cut fell at 3over while other Indians missing out were Sneha Singh 7875 Amandeep Drall 7875 Hitaashee Bakshi 7981 and Vidhatri Urs 9387 while Neha Tripathi retired after the first roundHelen Briem of Germany and Elinor Sudow of Sweden were in shared lead the field Briem had a round of 1under 70 and a combined score of eight under par with rounds of 6870 as did Ellinor Sudow who also played a second round of 3under 70 to stay in tied leadShannon Tan played a round of 4under 69 to move into third place and has a 36hole score of seven under parHelen Briem and Shannon Tan are the two highest ranked players on the Order of Merit taking part in the tournamentDiksha began her second round on the front nine and picked up a shot on the second hole and then dropped it on the third before closing the front nine with a birdie On the back nine she had a bogey on the 12th and a birdie on the 13th However she dropped a shot on the 16th to close the day with an even par round She continues to have a combined score of four under parVani started on the front nine and had six quiet holes before she made birdie on the seventh and then closed the front nine with a bogey On the back nine Vani picked up shots on the 12th 15th and 18th holes to finish the day at a combined four under par IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/german-masters-diksha-dagar-and-vani-kapoor-in-top-10-623350.html Sat, 28 Jun 2025 15:59:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-35th-as-scheffler-is-in-3-way-lead-with-thomas-and-fleetwood-at-travelers-622253.html Cromwell USA June 21 Akshay Bhatia was tied35th after a round of even par 70 which included an eagle in the Travellers Championship Bhatia fighting for a place in the FedEx Cup playoffs is now Tied35th and nine shots behind the trio of leaders Scottie Scheffler 71 Justin Thomas 64 and Tommy Fleetwood 65 who were 9under Bhatia birdied the third and eagled the sixth but dropped one shot on the fourth and a double on the 17thScheffler had led after the first day 8under On the second day he had an early bogey on the sixth and then four birdies moved him to 11under and he was the sole leader before he dropped a double on the Par4 17th in the last of the USD 20 million Signature events this seasonWorld No 2 Rory McIlroy was 3over through four holes en route to carding a 1over 71 McIlroy is now 5under and T9Thomas carded five consecutive birdies from the 11th to the 15th on the way to 64 This season he has had one win at the RBC Heritage and three runnerup results while Scheffler is looking for a fourth victory this seasonFleetwood an eighttime DP World Tour winner is in search of his first PGA Tour victoryDenny McCarthy 64 and Austin Eckroat 71 were at 7under 133 followed by Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley 70 and Nick Taylor 68On the opening day Bhatia shot even par 70 to be Tied43 despite a double bogey World No 1 Scottie Scheffler carded 62 for his secondlowest openinground score of the season for a share of the lead with Austin EckroatBhatia an Indian American has had a fair season with three Top10 finishes including a Tiedthird at the Players playing with the former Open winner Brian Harman Bhatia had nine pars on the front nine and before he dropped a double bogey on the 10th He got his shots back on the 14th and the 17th and was tied 43rd at even par 70 in an event that does not have a cut Bhatia is just coming off a missed cut at the US Open but was T16 at Memorial and T22 at the Charles Schwab Challenge IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-35th-as-scheffler-is-in-3-way-lead-with-thomas-and-fleetwood-at-travelers-622253.html Sat, 21 Jun 2025 19:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-2025-teenager-vasu-sehgal-shoots-error-free-67-to-storm-into-lead-621852.html Ludhiana June 18 Teenager Vasu Sehgal of Chandigarh shot an errorfree fiveunder 67 in round two to gain two spots and move into the lead at a total of eightunder 100 at the PGTI NEXGEN Imperial Golf Estate being played in Ludhiana The 19yearold Sehgal enjoyed a commanding threeshot lead Noidas Lakshya Nagar too carded a bogeyfree 67 that helped him rise 13 spots to tied second position at a total of fiveunder 103 Karnals Tushar Pannu the overnight leader signed for a 72 to also be placed tied second Gurugrambased duo of Digraj Singh Gill 67 and Manish Thakran 68 along with Karnals Rohit Narwal 71 were tied for fourth at fourunder 104The Imperial Golf Estate is a par72 ninehole course where the nine holes are played twice to comprise a round The cut was declared at twoover 110 Forty professionals progressed to the third and final roundVasu Sehgal 3367 who was overnight tied third and two shots off the lead began well with two birdies on the first three holes Vasu then went on to accumulate three consecutive birdies from the 10th through the 12th to end up with a flawless fiveunder for the daySehgal a winner of several titles at the junior level before turning professional in 2023 gave an excellent display of ballstriking and wedge play on Wednesday as he left himself three tapin birdies and also made a couple of quality upanddowns for birdiesVasu said I hit my approaches really well today and landed it close to the flag on many occasions However I wasnt at my best with the putter today and missed a few putts out there Ive gone through some swing changes and club changes this year I feel Im now getting my game togetherIts been fun playing a professional event here at Imperial Great Estate for the first time The professionals are enjoying the layout and the conditions of this course The key in the final round for me will be hitting as many fairways and greens as possible IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-2025-teenager-vasu-sehgal-shoots-error-free-67-to-storm-into-lead-621852.html Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:13:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-2025-rookie-tushar-pannu-sets-bar-at-five-under-on-day-one-in-ludhiana-621668.html Ludhiana June 17 Rookie Tushar Pannu of Karnal set the bar at fiveunder 31 on the first day of the fifth event of the PGTI NexGen season being played at The Imperial Golf Estate in Ludhiana The 21yearold Pannu enjoyed a oneshot lead Kushal Singh of Gurugram returned a fourunder 32 to be placed second after round oneThe Imperial Golf Estate is a par72 ninehole course where the nine holes are played twice to comprise a round However due to a rain delay on Tuesday the first round of the tournament comprised only nine holes instead of 18 with the par for the course being 36Tushar Pannus hot putter ensured he led the field on the opening day with an errorfree round Tushar drained an eagle on the sixth hole along with three birdies on Tuesday all coming as a result of conversions from a range of 12 to 15 feet He also made a great parsave on the fourth after an erratic tee shotTushar said When you play just nine holes the effort is to play steady and stay under par I was looking at twounder today so Im thrilled that I exceeded my expectations The putter was on fire as I sank a lot of long puttsIve had a decent start to my professional career this year with a few top20s under my belt on the PGTIs main tour That has given me a lot of confidence coming into this NexGen eventKushal Singh too shot a bogeyfree round as he was close to the heels of the leader at 32 Karnals Rohit Narwal Panchkulabased Abhishek Kumar and Chandigarhs Vasu Sehgal were tied for third place at threeunder 33The tournament offers a prize purse of INR 20 lakh and marks the debut of professional golf and the PGTI in Ludhiana one of Punjabs major citiesThe event will be played over three rounds 54 holes with the cut being applied after two rounds 36 holes The top 36 players and ties will make the cut for the third and final round The tournament features a field of 72 players and features leading professional golfers from all across India IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-2025-rookie-tushar-pannu-sets-bar-at-five-under-on-day-one-in-ludhiana-621668.html Tue, 17 Jun 2025 21:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/aaron-rai-is-33rd-as-spaun-finishes-with-2-birdies-to-win-us-open-621488.html Oakmont USA June 16 Unheralded JJ Spaun produced two amazing birdies on the last two holes to win the 125th US Open and change his life and career Winner of one PGA Tour title before this Spaun who began the day trailing Sam Burns by one had five bogeys in the first six holes but with scoring being so difficult he was still in contention when he came to the 17th and was chasing Scotsman Robert MacIntyre who had set the clubhouse target of 1over after finishing with a brilliant round of 2under 68Spaun was tied with MacIntyre when he came to the 17th He produced a great 314yard drive on the 17th and birdied to take the lead On the 18th he needed two putts from 65 feet for the win but he holed for a grandstand finish and the longest putt of the tournament to card 2over 72 and grab a 2shot win at the Oakmont Country Club which was at its most difficult in wet conditions That made him the only player to finish under par at 1under 279 It gave him a twoshot victory over MacIntyreIndoBritish Aaron Rai after three rounds of 72 added a 73 and was T33 IndianAmerican Akshay Bhatia missed the cut and Sahith Theegala missed the event due to a neck injuryThe win made Spaun the 36yearold Californian a major champion in only his second US Open Spaun raised both arms and tossed his putter jumping into the arms of caddie Mark Carens Spaun finished last year at No 119 in the world with only one PGA TOUR title in his careerBurns had a twoshot lead going to the 11th tee made a double bogey from a divot in the first cut and from a lie in the fairway so wet he thought he deserved relief He shot 78 Adam Scott trying to become the first player to go more than 11 years between major titles was tied for the lead with five holes to play One of the best drivers could no longer find the fairway He played them in 5over and shot 79 He was T12One shot behind at the start of the day Spaun opened with five bogeys in six holes with some horrific breaks And then came a rain delay of 1 hour 37 minutes Viktor Hovland who shot 73 to finish third saw it all including the putt at the end and the bogeys at the startThe weather delay changed the whole vibe for Spaun and he made only one bogey the rest of the way Then came the amazing finishMacIntyre 28 also struggled at the start and fell nine shots behind at one point But he birdied the 17th and split the fairway on the 18th for a key par and a 68 and the clubhouse lead MacIntyre came close to becoming Scotlands first major champion since Paul Lawrie in 1999Hatton 72 and Ortiz 73 in serious contention at a major for the first time tied for fourth along with Cameron Young 70 The consolation for Ortiz was getting into the Masters next year Scottie Scheffler 10 shots behind early in the final round was somehow still part of the story on the back nine But he missed far too many birdie chances even threeputting from 12 feet on the 11th hole The worlds No 1 player finished with a 70 to tie for seventh with Jon Rahm 67 and Burns his best friendRory McIlroy shot 67 and ended T19 after a week when he like most others had a rough time IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/aaron-rai-is-33rd-as-spaun-finishes-with-2-birdies-to-win-us-open-621488.html Mon, 16 Jun 2025 22:06:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/mannat-brar-scripts-history-with-best-ever-finish-by-an-indian-at-womens-amateur-cship-621221.html Nairn Scotland June 14 Indias Mannat Brar produced a great performance at the 122nd Womens Amateur Championship before losing a narrow match in the prequarterfinals She reached the round of 16 at the Womens Amateur which is the bestever by an Indian amateur Mannat who was third at the RampA Girls a year ago was 16th in the strokeplay competition and then won two matches to reach the prequarters the last 16She beat Germanys Uma Bergner 5 amp 4 in the Round of 64 on the first day of matchplay Mannat went five up with four holes left to wrap up the matchThe next day Mannat played two matches First the Indian teenager came from way behind to beat Irelands Rebekah Gardner on the 21st hole Mannat staged an amazing comeback as she was three down with three holes to go She won the next three to get into extra holes Both players parred the first extra hole and bogeyed it the next time On the third attempt Mannat parred and Rebekah bogeyed handing the match to the IndianIn the Round of 16 Mannat was again trailing by three holes after 10 holes against Spains Paula Francisco Mannat won the 11th with a birdie the 13th with a par and the 15th with a birdie to get to all square The duo parred the 16th and the 17th to stay level Then Mannat lost narrowly on the 18th and exitedThanks to her triumph over Brar Francisco has set up an allSpanish quarterfinal showdown against Paula Martin Sampedro Francisco and Martin Sampedro both earned their last eight places the hard way as they were pushed the full distanceThe winner of this years championship gains entry to the AIG Womens Open The Amundi Evian Championship the US Womens Open the Chevron Championship and by tradition will earn an invitation to compete at the Augusta National Womens Amateur IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/mannat-brar-scripts-history-with-best-ever-finish-by-an-indian-at-womens-amateur-cship-621221.html Sat, 14 Jun 2025 19:35:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-modest-start-with-an-even-par-round-for-diksha-at-hulencourt-620943.html Hulencourt Belgium June 12 Diksha Dagar one of the seven Indians on show this week at the Hulencourt Womens Open began with a modest even par 72 in the first round of the event being played in Belgium Diksha who has been in fine form this season and has been in the Top 10 of the Ladies European Tours Order of Merit had three birdies and three bogeys in her round She started on the back nine and bogeyed the 14th but turned in oneunder with birdies on the 16th and the 18th A bogey on the second followed by a birdie on the third meant she was still under par A bogey on the seventh which was her 16th hole saw her finish at even parRookie Avani Prashanth was 1under through seven holes while Amandeep Drall playing her first LET event this season and Sneha Singh playing her second event shot 2over 74 each and were T67th though the position will change as the round is still in progressTvesa Malik carded 76 as did Vani Kapoor and both were T106 while Hitaashee Bakshi struggled to 79 and was T128 All three will need very low rounds on the second dayLeading the field was Australias Kelsey Bennett 67 who had nine birdies alongside two bogeys and on double bogey late in her round on the fourth which was the 13th holeShe began on the tenth with three birdies in the first four holes and finished with three birdies in the last three holesThree players Kylie Henry of Scotland French golfer Nastasia Nadaud and Lydia Hall of Wales finished their first rounds with 69 Helen Briem of Germany was also 3under but had nine more holes to playThe 2024 LET Rookie of the Year Briem entered this weeks Hulencourt Womens Open with renewed confidence following a strong runnerup finish at the Tenerife Ladies Open Hulencourt is hosting the tournament for the first time IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-modest-start-with-an-even-par-round-for-diksha-at-hulencourt-620943.html Fri, 13 Jun 2025 00:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-forest-hill-mari-muthu-r-moves-into-sole-lead-on-day-two-620919.html SAS Nagar Punjab June 12 Bengalurus Mari Muthu R 6164 the overnight joint leader carded an evenpar 64 to move into the sole lead at a total of threeunder 125 on day two of the PGTI NexGen event being played at the Forest Hill Golf amp Country Club in SAS Nagar Punjab Chandigarhbased 24yearold Umed Kumar 6166 the other overnight joint leader who is making his pro debut this week returned a twoover 66 in round two to drop one spot and end the day in second place at a total of oneunder 127Bangladeshs Md Razu 6565 was placed third at a total of twoover 130 The Forest Hill Golf amp Country Club is a par64 ninehole course where the nine holes are played twice to comprise a roundThe cut was applied at 10over 138 Fortyone professionals progressed to the third and final roundMari Muthu R the overnight joint leader who is searching for his maiden professional title made a slow start on Thursday with two birdies three bogeys and a doublebogey over the first 12 holes where he struggled with his puttingAfter being threeover for the day through 12 holes the 40yearold Mari Muthu made a splendid recovery with three birdies over the last six holes landing his wedge shots within four feet on all three occasionsMari Muthu said It was very windy therefore it was tough to control the shots and that reflected in the scores My wedge play and chipping were excellent for the second straight day But it was an ordinary day with the putter for me I missed a lot of short puttsI managed to regain my momentum from the 13th hole onwards where I hit a terrific chip shot to set up a tapin birdie Thereafter I played very well till the end I now feel confident going into the final roundUmed Kumar made two bogeys during his second round of 66Tricity lad Umed Kumar made his professional debut in style on Wednesday as he shot a threeunder 61 to jointly lead the opening round along with Bengalurus Mari Muthu R in the fourth event of the PGTI NexGen seasonWhile Umed Kumar the 24yearold from Chandimandirs SEPTA golf course struck four birdies and a bogey Mari Muthu came up with six birdies and three bogeys Sachin Chouhan of Mhow was placed third at oneunder 63 while Kolkatas Irfan Ali Mollah carded an evenpar 64 to be placed fourth IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-forest-hill-mari-muthu-r-moves-into-sole-lead-on-day-two-620919.html Thu, 12 Jun 2025 21:44:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/nexgen-forest-hill-umed-kumar-makes-pro-debut-in-style-jointly-leads-with-mari-muthu-after-rd-1-620744.html SAS Nagar Punjab June 11 Tricitylad Umed Kumar made his professional debut in style as he shot a threeunder 61 to jointly lead the opening round along with Bengalurus Mari Muthu R at the fourth event of the PGTI NexGen season being played at the Forest Hill Golf amp Country Club in SAS Nagar Punjab on Wednesday The Forest Hill Golf amp Country Club is a par64 ninehole course where the nine holes are played twice to comprise a roundUmed Kumar a winner of two amateur titles including the Eastern India Amateur in 2023 made a dream start to his pro career thanks to his exceptional short game He sank a couple of birdies from a range of 12 to 15 feet and also chipped in for birdie on the fourth holeIm delighted to make a good start in my firstever professional event This gives me a lot of confidence going ahead I negotiated the windy conditions well and played some solid golf as I found all fairways and missed just three greens Umed saidIm quite familiar with this golf course as I have playing rights here so that is an added advantage for me I know where to land my approaches and which side I can afford to miss the greens if at all he saidMari Muthu the coleader was outstanding with his wedge shots and chipping as he landed it within five feet on four occasions to set up birdies Kolkatas Khokan Molla made a holeinone on the 18th during his round of 78The fourth event of the 2025 Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI NexGen season offers a prize purse of INR 20 lakh and marks the return of mens professional golf and the PGTI to Mohali after 11 yearsThe top 36 players and ties will make the cut for the third and final round The tournament features a field of 72 players The PGTI NexGen Order of Merit is currently being led by Rajesh Kumar Gautam of Lucknow who has seasons earnings of INR 429600 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/nexgen-forest-hill-umed-kumar-makes-pro-debut-in-style-jointly-leads-with-mari-muthu-after-rd-1-620744.html Thu, 12 Jun 2025 00:18:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-season-resumes-from-june-11-at-forest-hill-as-mohali-returns-to-mens-circuit-after-11-years-620555.html Mohali Punjab June 10 Top star Rajesh Kumar Gautam of Lucknow along with local golfers Ranjit Singh Karanveer Singha Vasu Sehgal and Kartik Digvijay Singh will be the main attractions in the fourth event of the 2025 Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI NexGen season which will be played at the Forest Hill Golf amp Country Club in Mohali Punjab from June 11 to 13 The tournament offers a prize purse of Rs 20 lakh and marks the return of mens professional golf and the PGTI to Mohali after 11 years The event will be played over three rounds 54 holes with the cut being applied after two rounds 36 holes The top 36 players and ties will make the cut for the third and final roundThe tournament features a field of 72 players The field will feature professionals from the Tricity such as Ranjit Singh Karanveer Singha Vasu Sehgal and Kartik Digvijay Singh to name a fewThe PGTI NexGen Order of Merit is currently being led by Rajesh Kumar Gautam of Lucknow who has the seasons highest earnings of Rs 429600The winner of this years NexGen Order of Merit will earn an exemption on the main tour PGTI for the 2026 seasonAmandeep Johl CEO PGTI said We are excited to resume the PGTI NexGen season which has produced some fascinating finishes and three different winners so far The competition in the Order of Merit race promises to get even more intense over the next two events We thank Forest Hill Golf amp Country Club for partnering with us in staging this eventB S Gill President Forest Hill Golf amp Country Club said We are delighted to host the PGTI NexGen event which also heralds the return of mens professional golf to our club after a long gap We are confident professionals shall be up to the challenges its lakes ravines and hills throw at them Forest Hill Golf amp Country Club is a unique venue where golf and the environment dovetail into an unusual experience IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-season-resumes-from-june-11-at-forest-hill-as-mohali-returns-to-mens-circuit-after-11-years-620555.html Tue, 10 Jun 2025 20:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-sole-ninth-after-third-round-in-tenerife-620166.html Tenerife Spain May 8 Diksha Dagar held her position within the top 10 at the end of the third round of the Tenerife Womens Open at Abama Golf On the third day Diksha played a round of even par 72 to be 5under for three days and is placed sole 9th in the standings three shots behind the leader Sara Kouskova 69 at eighthunder The other Indian to make the cut in Tenerife Avani Prashanth played an even par third round and is now placed at 43rd on the leaderboardSara Kouskova surged ahead of the field on the third day with her round of 3under 69 and now leads by one stroke The Czech national won the Jabra Ladies Open just last week and is in a prime position to follow the title with one more this weekDiksha started her day with a birdie on the first hole before dropping shots on the sixth and eighth holes by the time she was halfway through the round On the back nine she picked up a shot on the 10th hole before dropping one back on the 13th and picking up one more on the 16th to make sure she is still placed in the Top10Avani started her round with backtoback birdies on the 10th and 11th holes and then dropped a double bogey on the 16th On the front nine she dropped two more shots on the first hole with another double bogey before picking them back up on the third and sixth holes She would drop a shot immediately on the seventh and then birdie the eighth to close the day with a par score on a rollercoaster dayKouskova only dropped one shot during her third round on the 12th hole She made birdies on the sixth 11th 14th and 17th holesShannon Tan of Singapore is tied for second place alongside Ana Pelaez Trivino of Spain and Noora Komulainen of Finland The Singaporean national played a round of even par 72 while Ana and Noora played rounds of 6under 66 and 3under 69 respectively to place themselves one shot behind the leaderOrder of Merit leader Mimi Rhodes played carded 3under 69 to move into tied 10th with Patricia Isabel Schmidt and secondday leader Lauren Walsh Walsh had an abysmal third round and she shot 5over 77 to stumble down the order IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-sole-ninth-after-third-round-in-tenerife-620166.html Sun, 08 Jun 2025 18:13:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-rises-to-tied-third-place-in-tenerife-open-620077.html Tenerife Spain June 7  Diksha Dagar added a secondday round of 3under 69 to her firstround 70 at the Tenerife Womens Open to move to third place The 24yearold is 5under for two rounds She is Tied third and four shots behind sole leader Lauren Walsh 6768 who is at 9under at Abama GolfAvani Prashanth played three over par 75 on the second day to fall down the standings to tied 43 Tvesa Malik 7375 Hitaashee Bakshi 7276 and Sneha Singh 7779 failed to make the cut which was set three over parDiksha picked up a shot on the third hole before dropping one on the fifth but immediately got it back on the sixth and grabbed one more on the ninth On the back nine Diksha made birdies on the 11th and 12th holes She dropped a double bogey on the 16th hole before recovering with a birdie on the 17th for a 69Diksha had a rollercoaster day with six birdies and three birdies that included some excellent approaches and a brilliant bounceback birdie on the 17th The twotime LET winner said Im really looking forward to the weekend I need to continue the same level of game Im playing well but need to keep steady Ill focus on myself and wont look at the scores Dad has been doing a good job on the bag reading the greens We have been discussing it a lot Because of him I got some good birdies opportunities This course is really difficult for the caddiesDiksha is now tied third in the standings with six more players including firstday joint leader Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen The other six are Czech Republics Sara Kouskova winner of the last event the Jabra Ladies Open Spains Marta Martin Austrias Emma Spitz overnight leader Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen from Denmark plus Italian pair Alessandra Fanali and Anna ZanussoAvani was doing fine with three birdies in the first six holes and even got into Top5 at that stage She dropped a bogey on the ninth and had a disastrous Par4 13th hole where she dropped a quadruple bogey for an eight and slipped down steeplyTvesa had two birdies against five bogeys Hitaashee had one birdie against five bogeys and Sneha had two birdies four bogeys a double bogey and a triple bogey in her 79Walsh of Ireland continued to lead the field She played in the same group as Diksha Dagar and started on the front nineTwo shots behind the leader is Shannon Tan of Singapore with 7166 and a combined score of seven under parThe Order of Merit leader Mimi Rhodes 7073 is placed tied 20th in the standings at one under par IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-rises-to-tied-third-place-in-tenerife-open-620077.html Sat, 07 Jun 2025 13:36:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/shubhankar-sharma-misses-cut-veer-ahlawat-retires-in-klm-open-620083.html Amsterdam June 7 Shubhankar Sharma failed to make the cut after a second round of one over par 72 on the second day of the KLM Open on the DP World Tour He shot 78 in the first round Play was suspended for the day due to darkness at The International in Amsterdam Netherlands Though the projected cut is set at fourover par Sharma at 8over is certain to miss the cut He had two birdies and one bogey in his second roundMeanwhile Veer Ahlawat retired after a difficult first day of 78During the second round the weather conditions were tough as play had to be stopped for two hours in the afternoon before it could be resumed The strong winds went to over 35 mphJoakim Lagergren set himself apart from the rest of the field on the second day as played a round of three under par for the day despite the harsh conditions Lagergren was helped by the fact that he started earlier in the day as he took the lead by two strokes with a round of 68 and has a total score of eight under The round included seven birdies and four bogeysThe harsh weather made it challenging for all players as day one leader Ricardo Gouveia suffered and had to fight his way to a round of one over par 72 and is now in second place with a score of six under par Gouveia made four birdies and five bogeysMeanwhile Saptak Talwar added a round of 2under 69 on the second day of the Swiss Challenge at Golf Sempach Lucerne SwitzerlandIt followed his performance of 2under 69 on the first day He is Tied25thStarting his round on the front nine Talwar played a bogeyfree round with both his birdies coming in the back nine He picked up the shots on the 14th and 17th holes His combined score for both rounds stands at four under parSantiago Tarrio of Spain 6568 Chris Paisley of England 7063 Tobias Jonsson of Sweden 6568 and Matt Oshrine of USA 6568 shared the lead at nine under par each at the end of the second daySantiago Jonsson and Oshrine have had identical scores for the first two days of six under and three under respectively while Paisley carded one under on the first day and then followed it up with an eightunder in the second round Paisley made 10 birdies and two bogeys in his second roundFirst day leader David Horsey slipped down the order to be tied 33rd in the standings as he carded a round of 5over 76 in the second round His total score is now three under par The cut for the event is set at one under par IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/shubhankar-sharma-misses-cut-veer-ahlawat-retires-in-klm-open-620083.html Sat, 07 Jun 2025 14:15:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/theegala-withdraws-from-canadian-open-due-to-neck-strain-619690.html Toronto June 5 Sahith Theegalas return to action has once again been delayed as the 27yearold Indian American continued to be hampered by the neck pain that he suffered a few weeks ago Theegala has also not made it clear whether he would be able to compete next week at the US Open at Oakmont but he hinted that he might be sidelined for a stretch The 27yearold Pepperdine grad withdrew from the Canadian Open and was replaced in the field by Cameron ChampIve been battling the last few weeks so this one stings Theegala wrote in a social media post on InstagramIt marks the third time that Theegala has had to withdraw due to injury in his last five starts He pulled out of the Truist Championship in May after shooting 78 in the third round A few days later he withdrew from the PGA Championship before the tournament began He returned last week to Muirfield Village for the Memorial but posted 7477 to miss the 36hole cutTheegala who is a RBC ambassador as also Hero said it was with a heavy heart that he was withdrawing to get treatment and rest his injuryTheegala third in the FedEx Cup last year was selected by US Captain Jim Furyk for the Presidents Cup last October in Montreal Just as he was looking at a Ryder Cup place this current season has been a disappointment with only two top25s in 15 starts He ranks No 119 in the FedEx Cup and his world ranking once 11th in the world has slipped to No 39He wrote on his social media platform Doctors have advised me to put the clubs away for a little while as I get treatment and rest for an injury Ive been battling the last few weeks so this one stings IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/theegala-withdraws-from-canadian-open-due-to-neck-strain-619690.html Thu, 05 Jun 2025 12:46:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-among-five-indians-at-tenerife-open-on-let-619520.html Canary Islands June 4 Five Indians led by Diksha Dagar will tee up at the Tenerife Womens Open in the Canary Islands this week After a short break the Ladies European Tour LET is back in action and the tournament in Tenerife returns to the schedule for the first time since 2011 Diksha Dagar Avani Prashanth Tvesa Malik Hitaashee Bakshi and Sneha Singh will be in the field of 132 players from 35 nations at the Abama Golf Resort Pranavi Urs has withdrawn as her wrist injury is not fully healedAfter nine events in 2025 Diksha is the top Indian in the eighth place on the LET Order of Merit which decides the yearlong race to crown the tours number one player Diksha has played nine events made seven cuts and finished in the top 10 four times including a runnerup finish in MoroccoAvani Prashanth at 39th is the secondbest Indian on LET Merit listThe Indian challenge includes the last two Order of Merit winners in India LET Rookie Hitaashee Bakshi in two starts has done well to finish T12 at the Dutch Ladies Open and T34 at Jabra Ladies while Sneha Singh will make her first startTvesa Malik in six starts has made only two cuts with T34 at Jabra Ladies as the bestThe top four of the current 2025 Order of Merit are in the field They are Englands Mimi Rhodes compatriot Cara Gainer and the Czech Republics Sara Kouskova who secured her maiden LET victory at Evian Resort KouskovaOne spot back in the Order of Merit is Chiara Tamburlini who will no doubt be as confident as anyone in Tenerife after she secured her best ever major result last weekThe tournament previously took place between 2002 and 2011 and the Abama Golf course provides a tricky test for the players this week with undulating and slopey greens IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-among-five-indians-at-tenerife-open-on-let-619520.html Wed, 04 Jun 2025 13:58:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/danish-leads-a-successful-indian-campaign-at-european-us-kids-golf-champs-619530.html London June 4 Danish Verma led a successful Indian campaign to the US Kids Golf European Championships this week The Chandigarh lad who has had a string of successes won the Boys Under13 title at the iconic Royal Musselburgh Golf Club in Scotland Indians picked up one gold medal two silver and one bronze medal and another top10 placeVerma was one of numerous Indians to make it to the podium as Nihal Cheema finished runnerup in the Boys 8 years Ahana Shah in the Girls 9 years was tied second and Naaysha Sinha was third in the Girls 8 division and was also among the medallists Most of the Indian medallists have finished on the podium in other events in the recent pastFor both Danish and Nihal their careers have been shaped by coach Jesse GrewalDanish who also won the US Kids Thailand Championships has been consistent He shot rounds of 707269 and his final round 69 was bogeyfreeThe Longniddry olf Club proved a happy hunting ground Ground for some of the other Indian youngstersNihal Cheema with rounds of 353834 and a total of 106 lost narrowly to Rinto Oake of Japan 353535 who totalled 105 at LongniddryNaaysha Sinha of Noida shot rounds of 413541 in the three ninehole rounds at Longniddry Golf Club where Brianna Yang of Great Britain won the Girl 8 titleIn the Girls 9 section Ahana Shah who carded 373739 in her three rounds was the runnerup as Jay Kang of the US won at LongniddryDanish was also picked for the Red Team for the European Van Horn team competition and in his match where he teamed up with Luke Lapone of the US they tied their match with Zach Gammon of France and Caleb Pickett of the UK of the Blue Team Overall the Blue Team won the Van Horn CupIn some of the other results Vedaansh Jain was 18th in Boys 9 Drona Setlur was 12th in Boys 10 and Rajveer Suri was T27 in Boys 12 In Girls 1314 Naina Kapoor 727877 was seventhThe US Kids Golf returned to East Lothian Scotlands Golf Coast for the 16th annual US Kids Golf European Championship More than 500 of the worlds best young golfers aged 518 travelled from more than 50 countries to compete in a premier junior golf tournament at the Home of GolfThe conditions were challenging with wind and rain amidst cold weather and it was a truly Scottish weather experience for the young stars An Indian team qualifying on the basis of their performances represents India each yearIndian resultsBoys 8 2 Nihal Cheema 343834 105 Lost by one shotBoys 918 Vedaansh Jain 797881 238Boys 10 12 Drona Setlur 807686 242Boys 13 1 Danish Verma 707269 211 Won by 5 shotsGirls 8 3 Naaysha Sinha 413541 117 Lost by 4 shots to the winnerGirls 9 T2 Ahana Shah 373739 113 Lost by one shot to the winnerGirls 1314 7 Naina Kapoor 727877 227 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/danish-leads-a-successful-indian-campaign-at-european-us-kids-golf-champs-619530.html Wed, 04 Jun 2025 15:15:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-amandeep-drall-vani-kapoor-seek-more-success-in-8th-leg-of-wpgt-619436.html Bengaluru June 3 Amandeep Drall who ended a 15monthlong title drought last week will seek to add to that success as she tees up in the eighth leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour WPGT at the Bangalore Golf Club The prize purse this week is Rs16 lakh The 29yearold from Kapurthala who is the only Indian pro to have won each year since she became a pro in 2015 will be a strong contender alongside her close friend Vani Kapoor winner of three titles this seasonIn recent years Vani has been the most successful pro in Indian domestic golf with around 30 wins and that has been achieved despite missing out a lot due to international engagementsThis season Vani and Amandeep have been focusing on the domestic Tour though they could be playing in Europe soon This week Amandeep could have played in Spain but she decided to consolidate her game before venturing to Europe once again Vani Kapoor leads the Hero Order of MeritSome leading regulars like Hitaashee Bakshi and Sneha Singh are slated to play on the Ladies European Tour this weekAmong the other top stars who will be making a bid to enter the winners circle this season are Ridhima Dilawari Gaurika Bishnoi Neha Tripathi Vidhatri Urs and Seher AtwalThe field this week has 38 players including six amateurs Zara Anand Saanvi Somu Ceerat Kang and Keerthana Rajeev who have played for India are among the six amateursIn the current season of the seven legs held so far Vani has won three times Sneha Singh has won twice while Rhea Purvi and Amandeep have won once eachLast week Amandeep won the seventh leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club in Mysuru carding a third straight round of 1over 71 to win the title almost 15 months after her last win which came in March 2024Amandeep carded 717171 to total 3over 213 and won by two shots over Ridhima Dilawari who despite a 1under 69 fell short at the JWGC Ridhimas 69 was one of the few underpar rounds recorded during the week which saw a lot of rain and tough conditions for scoring IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-amandeep-drall-vani-kapoor-seek-more-success-in-8th-leg-of-wpgt-619436.html Tue, 03 Jun 2025 21:21:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-moves-to-third-lies-two-shots-behind-leaders-at-the-memorial-on-the-pga-tour-618906.html Dublin USA May 31 Akshay Bhatia looking for a PGA Tour win for the third year running put himself in a very good position at the halfway stage of the Memorial Tournament Bhatia who was T7 after the first round 2under 70 added a 3under 69 to get to 5under sole third place Bhatia who had five Top10 finishes between November and March has however not been able to finish that close since his third place at the Players He was T2 at Dunlop Phoenix 4th at Hero World Challenge T9 at Genesis 9th at Mexico and T3 at the Players tournament Has since then cooled off with two missed cuts and a best of T22 at Charles Schwab last weekThe World No 31 had five birdies against two bogeys which came in the middle of the round on the ninth and the 11th Two of his birdies came with putts of 28 feet on the third and a 22footer on the 12thHe had a good allround showing finding 10 of the 14 fairways and 12 of the Greens in regulation and when he did miss the fairway or the green he scrambled well Bhatia trailed the inform Ben Griffin 6572 and Nick Taylor 6966 who are both coleading at 7underIndianAmerican Sahith Theegala coming back to action after a weeks absence due to neck strain missed the cut with rounds of 7477 as only Top50 and ties made the weekend from a field of 72 Also missing out was IndoBritish Aaron Rai 7974 Other big names missing out were Brian Harman and Lucas GloverTaylor had a great day as he putted for a birdie on all but one hole and kept bogeys off his card He had a 4under 68 that gave him a share of the lead with Griffin Taylor faced the worst of the weather a rain that wouldnt quitGriffin caught a slight break in the afternoon when the rain relented and Muirfield Village was soft He had 16 pars a birdie and a bogey for a 72 that put him at 7under 137 with TaylorWhile Bhatia was two shots behind the leaders he was followed by defending champion Scottie Scheffler who always seems to be lurking and his 70 was great in the kind of serious rain he played in Scheffler missed a trio of birdie chances inside 10 feet on the front nine and also hit a wedge into the water on the 14th for a bogey yet he was always somewhere closeSam Burns played in the tougher morning conditions and shot 65 11 shots better than his opening round to get within four of the lead at 5 Justin Rose holed out from the fairway on No 3 for eagle and made six birdies on the back in a 66 and is T12 He shot 78 in the first roundSignature Events normally do not have a cut but playerhosted events Jack Nicklaus in this case have a 36hole format with Top50 and ties moving into the final two rounds The cut fell at 5over 149 and that included Hideki Matsuyama Only 11 players remained under par IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-moves-to-third-lies-two-shots-behind-leaders-at-the-memorial-on-the-pga-tour-618906.html Sat, 31 May 2025 20:04:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/akshay-bhatia-makes-a-good-start-tied-seventh-at-the-memorial-618747.html Dublin USA May 30 Akshay Bhatia overcame a double bogey and two other bogeys on a demanding golf course with dense rough to shoot a creditable 2under 70 in the first round of the Memorial Tournament The IndianAmerican golfer a twotime winner on the PGA Tour was Tiedseventh and lying five shots behind the inform Ben Griffin 65 who won last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge and continued that form here this weekDefending champion Scottie Scheffler was not at his best but still shot 70 at Muirfield VillageThe other IndianAmerican in the field Sahith Theegala coming back from a neck strain which forced him to miss an event shot 2over 74 and was Tied31st while Aaron Rai the IndoBritish star was T68 after a round of 79Bhatia who was T3 at the Players and then ninth and T9 at Mexico and Genesis in successive starts made a good startBhatia opened with a birdie but promptly gave that shot back on the next hole A birdie on the fifth was followed by a double bogey and a birdie as he closed the front nine with an evenpar 36 He began the back nine well with birdies on the 11th 14th and 15th but gave away a bogey on the 18th as he missed a 10foot par puttTheegala was oneunder for the front nine with a 45foot birdie putt on the sixth On the back nine he bogeyed the 10th and doublebogeyed the 11th after going into the water and then into the roughHe bogeyed the 13th too but picked a birdie on the 14th with a 25foot birdie On the Par3 16th he hit his tee shot to nine inches and holed for a birdie but again dropped a shot on the 18th for a 2overRai had three birdies two bogeys and an incredible four double bogeys for 7over 79Griffin showed great form shooting 65 despite hitting twice into the water Griffin just kept making birdies along with an eagle on the par 5 seventh hole with a 3wood into 12 feet Griffin led by two shots over Collin Morikawa with Max Homa another stroke behindOnly 13 players broke par in a gentle wind but the course at Muirfield Village had dense roughs like the US Open which is scheduled next week at Oakmont Shane Lowry played alongside Griffin and had a 69 one of only six players to break 70 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/akshay-bhatia-makes-a-good-start-tied-seventh-at-the-memorial-618747.html Fri, 30 May 2025 19:12:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/vani-shares-the-lead-with-amandeep-and-vidhatri-in-7th-leg-of-wpgt-618572.html Mysuru May 29 Vani Kapoor seeking a fourth title in as many starts grabbed a share of the lead in the first round of the seventh leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club Vani who has not finished below the second place on the domestic WPGT in the last five starts has also won the fourth fifth and sixth legs of the Tour Playing at the JWGC in Mysuru Vani shot 71 as did her friend and former Hero Womens Indian Open runnerup Amandeep Drall and local star Vidhatri UrsThe trio shot 1over 71 each as none of the players broke par on the course which had seen a lot of rain over the last few days In fact with more rain expected the players will go out in a shotgun start in the second round on Friday morningThe course continued to be wet as it had rained over the last couple of days That also meant preferred lies were being used The wet fairways and the mild drizzle plus the winds added made it challenging The forecast for Friday is more rainRhea Purvi Saravanan who won the opening leg this season was tied for fourth with a round of 2over 72Vani Kapoor had two birdies against three bogeys as did Vidhatri Urs Amandeep Drall had pars through the front nine and then had two birdies against three bogeys on the back nineRhea had backtoback bogeys on the front nine and then a double bogey on the par4 11th but she recovered some ground with backtoback birdies on the 16th and the 17thJasmine Shekar was the only player to play one of the stretches in under par She shot 1under 35 with two birdies against one bogey on the front nine However she had four bogeys on the return journey Jasmine among the winners last year was fifth with 3over 73 while Durga Nittur shot 74 to be sixthKhushi Khanijau was the sole seventh with 75 and four players Karishma Govind Ridhima Dilawari Neha Tripathi and Lavanya Jadon were tied eighth at 6over 76 each IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/vani-shares-the-lead-with-amandeep-and-vidhatri-in-7th-leg-of-wpgt-618572.html Thu, 29 May 2025 23:55:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-indo-canadian-yellamaraju-lies-fifth-in-korn-ferry-tour-617960.html Knoxville USA May 25 IndoCanadian golfer Sudarshan Yellamaraju looking for his second win of the season added a round of 67 to his first two rounds of 6568 in the Visit Knoxville Open At 13under 200 for three days he is now Tiedfifth Yellamaraju brought home his second bogeyfree round in three rounds He birdied four times once on the front nine on the seventh hole He added three more birdies on the 12th 15th and 18thYellamaraju already has one win at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in January and last week he was sixth at the AdventHealth ChampionshipKoreas SH Kim shot 66 after 6761 on the first two days He is now 19under for three days and leads Dylan Menante 60 by 16underThe 23yearold Sudarshan Yellamaraju was born in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and moved to Canada when his parents moved to Winnipeg Though his father moved to Bengaluru for work and his office there was facing a huge golf course he did not show any interest towards the sportBut at the age of four Sudarshan Yellamaraju became curious about golf and began by playing with a plastic set of clubs and balls Began hitting balls on the range and eventually attended a 10day Future Links camp after receiving a junior set of clubs Further developed his hobby after moving to Canada and decided to play it at a professional levelYellamaraju attended the third and final rounds of the 2014 World Golf ChampionshipsBridgestone Invitational Made a point to follow Tiger Woods Phil Mickelson Bubba Watson Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia If he does well in the Korn Ferry Tour the 23yearold would get exemptions to the PGA Tour events and would take another step towards fulfilling his dream of playing on the worlds biggest golf tour IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-indo-canadian-yellamaraju-lies-fifth-in-korn-ferry-tour-617960.html Mon, 26 May 2025 00:28:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/indian-american-akshay-bhatia-moves-up-to-tied-4th-in-charles-schwab-challenge-617931.html Fort Worth USA May 25 Akshay Bhatia shot a third round of 69 which included a rough finish with three bogeys in four holes towards the end on the third day of the Charles Schwab Challenge here in Texas the USA Yet he moved up one place to be tied for fourth and is five shots behind coleaders Ben Griffin and Matt Schmid who for the third straight day shot identical scores After 6663 on the first two days they added a 68 each to be 13under Bhatia was tied for fourth alongside Robert MacIntyre 64 and Nick Hardy 67 All three players have a total score of eight under par In between in sole third place was Rickie Fowler 67 at 9underWorld No1 Scottie Scheffler made a big jump as he shot 6under 64 and rose to Tiedseventh and is now seven shots behind the leading duo Scheffler is looking to win for the third time in as many starts after the CJ Cup and the PGA ChampionshipBhatia had a strong start to the round on the front nine and with consecutive birdies on the first two holes He dropped a shot on the sixth hole and started the back nine with another set of birdies on the 10th and 11th holesBhatia was 3under at that stage From the 14th to the 17th Bhatia struggled to close the round as he dropped two shots on the 14th and 15th holes He did manage to gain one of those shots back on the 16th hole only to bogey the 17th for a score of one under par for the dayGriffin had a rollercoaster start on the front nine with three birdies to begin his round only to drop shots with a double bogey on the fifth and a bogey on the sixth He recovered with a birdie on the eighth and one more on the 10th hole and kept a clean sheet for the last seven holesMatti Schmid like his coleader started the round with three birdies and kept it clean for the front nine On the back nine Schmid had his first stumble with a bogey on the 11th hole He was able to gain back that shot on the 16th hole only to drop it on the 17th and close the round with a score of two under parFowler carded a strong round of three under par on the third day to move into third place and is currently four shots behind the leaders Fowler had one bogey and three birdies in his roundScheffler surged through the field on the third day as he moved up 42 places into tied seventh in the standings with his round of 64 six under parScheffler started the round with a great showing on the front nine as he made four birdies On the back nine he continued with his impressive display with a birdie on the 10th and an eagle on the 11th to go 6under Then he dropped shots with consecutive bogeys on the 12th and 13th but gained back those on the 16th and 17th holes before dropping another shot on the 18th hole to close an otherwise phenomenal round of golf IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/indian-american-akshay-bhatia-moves-up-to-tied-4th-in-charles-schwab-challenge-617931.html Sun, 25 May 2025 20:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-finishes-ninth-for-fourth-t-10-of-2025-hitaashee-tied-12-616936.html Hilversum Netherlands May 19 Diksha Dagar led an excellent final round performance from the Indian trio as all of them finished in the Top20 at the Dutch Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour The 24yearold who has been on the Ladies European Tour since 2019 produced steady rounds of 717071 for 4under 212 and finished Tiedninth It was her fourth Top10 and fifth in Top11 finish of the season on LET Behind her were rookies Hitaashee Bakshi 717369 at Tied12 and Avani Prashanth 777067 at T19 Englands Mimi Rhodes continued her sensational rookie season and claimed her third LET title at the Dutch Ladies Open She was two shots clear of the field at Goyer Golf amp Country ClubDiksha bogeyed once on the front nine but flourished on the back as she birdied the 10th 12th and the 18th In between she dropped a bogey on the 16th She plans to get at least one win ahead of her home event the Indian Open which is one of her big targetsHitaashee playing her first LET event outside India had an eagle two on the Par4 eighth besides three birdies and one bogey Avani who began the week with 77 produced a superb 5under 67 with five birdies and no bogeys for the joint secondbest score of the dayTvesa Malik 7475 missed the cut and Pranavi Urs withdrew due to medical reasons after the first roundRhodes success was remarkable third win in the last four starts for the 23yearold further solidifying her lead at the top of the Order of Merit standings She entered the final round tied at the top of the leaderboard alongside Spains Nuria Iturrioz and Italys Alessia Nobilio Rhodes had a solid round on the final day with three birdies on her scorecard for a third straight 69Two shots behind the winner Rhodes was fellow rookie Brianna Navarrosa and home favourite Anne van Dam Rhodes was 9under as Brianna and Anne Van Dam were 7under Navarrosa had an impressive final bogeyfree round firing sixunder par for the last 18 holesIts been a memorable week for van Dam who secured a T2 finish on home soil Adding to the celebrations it was announced earlier this week that van Dam will captain Team Europe at the upcoming Ping Junior Solheim Cup 2026 capping off a standout week both on and off the courseOnly one shot behind were four players who finished in a tie for fourth place Japans Ayako Uehara New Zealands Momoka Kobori Spains Luna Sobron Galmes and Italys Alessia Nobilio all carded sixunder par after 56 holesIrelands Lauren Walsh finished in solo fifth place on fiveunder par marking a solid week for the 24yearold Frances Perrine Delacour Indias Diksha Dagar and Hong Kongs Ginnie Ding were all one shot back on fourunder par in T9 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-finishes-ninth-for-fourth-t-10-of-2025-hitaashee-tied-12-616936.html Mon, 19 May 2025 17:56:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/dutch-ladies-open-diksha-finishes-ninth-for-fourth-t-10-of-2025-hitaashee-tied-12-616938.html Hilversum Netherlands May 19 Diksha Dagar led an excellent final round performance from the Indian trio as all of them finished in the Top20 at the Dutch Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour The 24yearold who has been on the Ladies European Tour since 2019 produced steady rounds of 717071 for 4under 212 and finished Tiedninth It was her fourth Top10 and fifth in Top11 finish of the season on LET Behind her were rookies Hitaashee Bakshi 717369 at Tied12 and Avani Prashanth 777067 at T19 Englands Mimi Rhodes continued her sensational rookie season and claimed her third LET title at the Dutch Ladies Open She was two shots clear of the field at Goyer Golf amp Country ClubDiksha bogeyed once on the front nine but flourished on the back as she birdied the 10th 12th and the 18th In between she dropped a bogey on the 16th She plans to get at least one win ahead of her home event the Indian Open which is one of her big targetsHitaashee playing her first LET event outside India had an eagle two on the Par4 eighth besides three birdies and one bogey Avani who began the week with 77 produced a superb 5under 67 with five birdies and no bogeys for the joint secondbest score of the dayTvesa Malik 7475 missed the cut and Pranavi Urs withdrew due to medical reasons after the first roundRhodes success was remarkable third win in the last four starts for the 23yearold further solidifying her lead at the top of the Order of Merit standings She entered the final round tied at the top of the leaderboard alongside Spains Nuria Iturrioz and Italys Alessia Nobilio Rhodes had a solid round on the final day with three birdies on her scorecard for a third straight 69Two shots behind the winner Rhodes was fellow rookie Brianna Navarrosa and home favourite Anne van Dam Rhodes was 9under as Brianna and Anne Van Dam were 7under Navarrosa had an impressive final bogeyfree round firing sixunder par for the last 18 holesIts been a memorable week for van Dam who secured a T2 finish on home soil Adding to the celebrations it was announced earlier this week that van Dam will captain Team Europe at the upcoming Ping Junior Solheim Cup 2026 capping off a standout week both on and off the courseOnly one shot behind were four players who finished in a tie for fourth place Japans Ayako Uehara New Zealands Momoka Kobori Spains Luna Sobron Galmes and Italys Alessia Nobilio all carded sixunder par after 56 holesIrelands Lauren Walsh finished in solo fifth place on fiveunder par marking a solid week for the 24yearold Frances Perrine Delacour Indias Diksha Dagar and Hong Kongs Ginnie Ding were all one shot back on fourunder par in T9 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/dutch-ladies-open-diksha-finishes-ninth-for-fourth-t-10-of-2025-hitaashee-tied-12-616938.html Mon, 19 May 2025 17:58:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/dutch-ladies-golf-diksha-rises-to-tied-fourth-hitaashee-tvesa-have-chance-to-make-cut-616652.html Hilversum Netherlands May 17 Diksha Dagar who shot 71 in the first round was back in action early on the second day and shot 2under 70 to get into the Top5 of the Dutch Ladies Open golf championship The second round was still in progress but Mimi Rhodes of England who has been having a great season was on top with 6969 at 6under and two ahead of Diksha who is Tiedfourth Avani Prashanth in her rookie season had a 73 on the first day In the second round she was twounder through 17 holes on the second day AT a 2over total she had a chance to make the cut which was likely to fall at 2overThe 2024 Womens Order of Merit winner Hitaashee Bakshi 71 was in the Top20 at Tied17th but was yet to begin her second round Tvesa Malik was 2over 74 in the first round and Pranavi Urs had an offday with a 77 and withdrew with an injuryDiksha had two birdies against one bogey in Round One but on the second day she rode a rollercoaster with five birdies against three bogeys She was tied fourth with Anne Van Dam of the Netherlands who had rounds of 7269Four other players Maha Hadioui Hannah Screen Amelia Garvey and Laura Fuenfstueck were also at threeunder with Diksha But three of the four had not started their second round and Maha had three more holes to play in the secondAs Mimi Rhodes moved ahead Denmarks Sofie Kibsgaard and Polands Dorota Zalewska the overnight coleaders with 68 each were tied second They were yet to start their second round The pair opened with rounds of fourunder 68 at Goyer Golf amp Country ClubIt was a tight leaderboard on Day 1 with Sofie Kibsgaard and Dorota Zalewska at the top with 4under 68 each There were five players in a share of third placeEnglands Hannah Screen and Mimi Rhodes New Zealands Amelia Garvey Germanys Laura Fuenfstueck and Swedens Lisa Petterson all fired rounds of threeunder par for round one IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/dutch-ladies-golf-diksha-rises-to-tied-fourth-hitaashee-tvesa-have-chance-to-make-cut-616652.html Sat, 17 May 2025 19:08:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-stays-in-top-10-of-let-order-of-merit-after-korea-championships-615964.html Incheon May 13 Diksha Dagar continues to be in the Top10 of the Ladies European Tours Order of Merit at the end of the Aramco Korea Championships The 24yearold who is now in her sixth year as a professional has twice won on the Ladies European Tour and multiple times on her home Tour the Womens Pro Golf Tour Barring once in 2020 Diksha has always been in the Top60 of the LET with the best two finishes being 14th place in 2019 the year she won her maiden LET title and third place in 2023 the year she had her second LET successAfter a modest 2024 when she was 29th in the LET list Diksha began in style with a runnerup finish losing a playoff in the seasonopener in Morocco Of the eight events this season one was cancelled in Australia due to weather and Diksha has played all othersOther than the second place at Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco Diksha was also T11th at NSW Open in Australia T8 in Joburg Open and T9 in Womens South African OpenPranavi Urs has also managed to keep her play at a good level After being the top Indian in her rookie season in 2024 at T17 with five Top10s she is 38th this year and right behind her rookie Avani Prashanth who has also given a good account of herself in her first full season outside IndiaOther Indians on the LET have been Aditi Ashok who plays mostly on the LPGA but makes occasional appearances on LET and Tvesa Malik Hitaashee Bakshi Sneha Singh and Amandeep Drall have conditional status with limited starts available to them on the TourThe next event for the Indian women professionals will be the Dutch Ladies Open where seven Indians will tee up as the Tour moves to Europe IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-stays-in-top-10-of-let-order-of-merit-after-korea-championships-615964.html Tue, 13 May 2025 18:05:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/zara-anand-top-indian-after-day-1-at-queen-sirikit-cup-615977.html Miyazaki May 13 Zara Anand was the top Indian at Tied12th after the first round of the Queen Sirikit Cup here in Japan Zara one of the most promising amateurs in India shot 1over 73 with three birdies against four bogeys in the round Two of those bogeys came on the 14th and the 18th The other two Indians in the prestigious competition are Heena Kang 76 at T21 and Mannat Brar 77 who had an off day and was T25 Heena had two birdies four bogeys and a double bogey while Mannat had two birdies five bogeys and a double bogeyThe Indians as a team were lying tiedseventh with the two top individual scores giving them a total of 5over 149Hosts Japan made an encouraging start in their quest to end a home jinx in the Queen Sirikit Cup They progressed well with threeunderpar 69s from Aira Nagasawa and Anna Iwanaga and went into the lead after the opening round of the 45th edition of the AsiaPacific Amateur Ladies Golf Team ChampionshipWith an aggregate score of sixunder 138 in the 13nation event the Japanese will head into Wednesdays second round with a onestroke lead from defending champions KoreaThere is then a fourshot gap back to Thailand in third on 143 They are followed by China 146 Hong Kong China and Singapore both 147 India and Vietnam both 149 Australia and Indonesia both 150 Chinese Taipei and Malaysia both 151 and the Philippines 158In the individual standings Nagasawa and Iwanaga were joined at the top of the leaderboard by Korean Oh Soomin 10th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking WAGR and bidding to retain the low individual award she claimed in New Zealand last yearSeveral of the preevent favourites struggled to find their range There were 75s from Zhou Shiyuan and Xu Ying both of whom boast victories on the China LPGA Tour and 76s for Thai Achiraya Sriwong and Japans Mamika Shinchi both in the top50 in the WAGRAustralian Sarah Hammett the individual runnerup last year signed for an 83 which included a triplebogey eight at the parfive 16th IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/zara-anand-top-indian-after-day-1-at-queen-sirikit-cup-615977.html Tue, 13 May 2025 18:47:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-slips-to-tied-16th-straka-lowry-take-lead-in-truist-615460.html Flourtown USA May 11 Akshay Bhatia rode a roller coaster at the end of which he had slid from a top 5 after two rounds to tied 16th at the end of the third round of the Truist Championship In blustery conditions Bhatia shot 71 after the first two rounds of 6370 He is now 6under and tied 16th with one more round to goAustrian Sepp Straka shot a 4under 66 and Irishman Shane Lowry had a 67 to share the lead heading into the final round Straka started the round two strokes behind in the third round he offset his only bogey with five birdies Two of those came in the final four holes and he had a clutch par putt from 16 and a half feet at the 18th on the Philadelphia Cricket Clubs Wissahickon Course to finish at 14 underAaron Rai 71 was tied 38th and Sahith Theegala struggled as she shot 8over 78 and was 70thBhatia had two birdies in the first three holes and then had a bogeybirdie on fourth and fifth Then came a hattrick of bogeys from seventh to the ninth as he turned in oneover 36 On the back nine he had the 12th 14th and the 15th and bogeyed the 13th 17th and the 18thLowry moved into a tie for the lead by matching Strakas birdie on the downwind par4 17th and will be paired with the 32yearold Austrian on Sunday in the final round of the sixth Signature Event of the PGA Tour seasonKeith Mitchell the leader after 18 and 36 holes shot 1over He was 11 under with Justin Thomas who charged up the leaderboard despite bogeys on the two par 5s in a 67 Hideki Matsuyama was another stroke back after a 63 the best score of the dayDefending champion Rory McIlroy made an early move before spoiling a threebirdie run with consecutive bogeys He had an uneventful back nine with one birdie and was 8under after a 69 tied with Nick Taylor 67 Sam Burns 67 Sungjae Im 67 and Tony Finau 67Thomas looking for a second win in as many starts after taking the RBC Heritage birdied three of the final four holes on the front nine and added backtoback birds on the back to move into contentionMcIlroy struggled throughout hitting just three of 14 fairways He had an uneventful back nine of 1 under and will start the final round five strokes behind the leaders in a bid to win in his first individual event since completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters last month IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-slips-to-tied-16th-straka-lowry-take-lead-in-truist-615460.html Sun, 11 May 2025 14:42:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-saptak-talwar-slips-to-t-48-in-girona-615462.html Girona May 11 Saptak Talwar had a nonetoogood 2over 73 and slipped down the leaderboard in the third round of the Challenge de Espana at Fontanals Golf Club Lying T11 after the second round with 6966 he shot 73 and at 5under he was tied 48th with one round to go Talwar playing his first full season on the HotelPlanner Tour had three bogeys and one birdie after starting on the 10thClement Charmasson will take a onestroke lead into the final day of the Challenge de Espana at Fontanals Golf Club as he closes in on securing a maiden HotelPlanner Tour titleThe Frenchman signed for a five under par round of 66 on a lowscoring day in Girona to reach 15 under par for the week one shot clear of Scotsman Euan Walker who occupies solo second on 14 underThe 26yearold Charmasson who earned promotion from the Pro Golf Tour in 2024 will now tee it up in the final group on Sunday in just his fifth start on the HotelPlanner Tour Charmasson is targeting a breakthrough winSwiss Benjamin Rusch fired a six under par round of 65 to climb into a share of third place on 12 under par alongside overnight leader Luis Masaveu with Finn Kim Koivus round of 64 putting him in fifth place alongside Swedens Oliver Gillberg on 11 underFive players are a further shot back in seventh on ten under par including Victor Sidal Svendsen and Jeppe Kristian Andersen from Denmark Spaniard Joseba Torres Welshman Jack Davidson and Englishman Tom Shadbolt IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-saptak-talwar-slips-to-t-48-in-girona-615462.html Sun, 11 May 2025 14:44:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-and-pranavi-tied-32nd-in-korea-championship-615375.html Seoul South Korea May 10 Diksha Dagar and Pranavi Urs faced contrasting fortunes but both ended at Tied32nd after two rounds of the Aramco Korea Championship at the New Korea Country Club here on Saturday As Diksha rallied from a disappointing front nine of 3over Pranavi dropped three shots on her second nine which was the front side of the course Diksha carded 2over 74 and Pranavi was 3over 75 and both are now 3over 147 for two rounds Meanwhile Avani Prashanth 7973 despite a good second round failed to make the cut and also missing out was Tvesa Malik 7976In the individual event defending champion and home favourite Hyo Joo Kim leads LeeAnne Pace by one shot on home soil on a score of fourunderpar South Korea had a solid day in wet weather carding a second consecutive round of 70 2With Lee Ann Pace sole second on threeunderpar Ecuadors Daniela Darquea and Frances Perrine Delacour a recent winner at the Investec SA Womens Open share third on twounderparIn the team competition Team Kouskova win by one shot and the team included Kouskova LeeAnne Pace Brianna Navarrosa and Patricia Isabel Schmidt They were 21under and one shot clear of Team Delacour which had Delacour Maha Haddioui Eleanor Givens and Polly MackIn the team event LeeAnne Pace made a terrific birdie on the final hole at the Aramco Korea Championship to clinch victory for Team Kouskova with a winning score of 21under parTeam Diksha was seventh and Team Pranavi which included Avani was T11 Tvesa Malik part Team Pia Babnik was T24 Diksha had three bogeys on the front nine but she recovered well on the back nine with one eight pars and one birdie for a 2over card Pranavi was even par for the back nine after starting from the 10th but she gave away three bogeys on her second nine which was the front side of the courseSeven players share fifth on oneunder par a group which includes Switzerlands Chiara Tamburlini Norways Dorthea Forbrigd Swedens Johanna Wrigley Australias Kelsey Bennett plus German trio Schmidt Polly Mack and Chiara Noja With the Team event now done and dusted the 54hole Individual competition will conclude on Sunday May 11 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-and-pranavi-tied-32nd-in-korea-championship-615375.html Sat, 10 May 2025 21:47:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-and-pranavi-placed-tied-19th-after-a-wet-first-day-in-korea-615142.html Seoul South Korea May 9 Indias Diksha Dagar and Pranavi Urs started with cards of 1over 73 each on the first day of the rainhit Aramco Korea Championship Indias other two stars Tvesa Malik 79 and Avani Prashanth 79 were both T86 and needed good second rounds to make the cut At even par through 17 holes Diksha was inside the Top10 till she came to the ninth hole her closing hole of the day She bogeyed the hole and dropped to 1over and Tied19 Pranavi had just one birdie against two bogeys in her 73 and she was also T19The rain proved a tough test for the stars of the Ladies European Tour LETOnly six players were under par with Frances Perrine Delacour and Germanys Patricia Schmidt tied at the top with a threeunder par score The former a recent winner at the Investec SA Womens Open also tops the Team event with her side on 13under parDiksha started from the tenth and had two each of birdies and bogeys to turn in even par On the second nine she bogeyed the first but got the shot back with a birdie on the fifth A dropped shot on the last hole saw her go over parPranavi opened with a birdie on the tenth and then had bogeys on the 15th and the sixthOut in the first group of the day Delacour alongside her squad of Maha Haddioui Eleanor Givens and Polly Mack set the benchmark teaming up for 14 birdies to post a combined score of 13under par They lead Team Kouskova by one shotThe captain Olympian Delacour led from the front carding five birdies and dropping just two shots at New Korea Country Club for a round of 69 3Joining her at the top of the Individual leaderboard is fellow LET winner Schmidt The German winner of the 2023 Belgian Ladies Open also made five birdies dropping her only shots of the day at the par4 1st and par3 11thIn the team competition Team Dagar was T6 while Team Urs was T12 and she also had Avani on the team Tvesa Malik who was on Team Babnik was T24Three players share third spot on twounder par a trio which includes South Africas LeeAnne Pace Ecuadors Daniela Darquea and defending champion Hyo Joo Kim from South Korea IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-and-pranavi-placed-tied-19th-after-a-wet-first-day-in-korea-615142.html Fri, 09 May 2025 21:46:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-theegala-and-rai-move-into-top-10-at-zurich-classic-612990.html Avondale USA April 26 Sahith Theegala holed a 10footer for an eagle and with his teammate Aaron Rai he moved into top 10 with a second round 69 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans They were playing the alternate shot format The Indianorigin pair had a birdie on the first an eagle on the second and a birdie on the seventh They dropped a shot on the fifth and parred the remaining holes including all nine on the back stretchAkshay Bhatia who with Theegala is signed up with Hero missed the cut as he played with Carson YoungPGA Tour rookies Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo shot a 3under 69 in alternateshot play to remain atop the leaderboardDefending champions Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry were six strokes backSalinda and Velo had a 17under 127 at breezy TPC Louisiana after breaking the tournament betterball record with a 58 on Thursday in the Tours only team event Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin were a stroke back after a 66The teams will play better ball on Saturday and alternate shot on SundayPlaying the back nine first Salinda and Velo made the turn at 1 over then rallied with four birdies on the easier front nineNovak is coming off a playoff loss last week to Justin Thomas in the RBC Heritage his second straight topthree finishMcIlroy making his first start since winning the Masters and Lowry were tied for 16th at 11 under after a 69 The Irish stars eagled the par5 second and played the first 12 holes in 6 under They were 3 over on the last six dropping strokes on the par4 13th par3 17th and par5 18thDanish identical twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard were third at 15 under after a 70 They shot 59 on Thursday IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-theegala-and-rai-move-into-top-10-at-zurich-classic-612990.html Sat, 26 Apr 2025 13:10:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/kapil-dev-grant-thornton-invitational-angad-cheema-dominates-final-round-with-66-to-win-613093.html Bengaluru April 26 Chandigarh golfer Angad Cheema dominated the final round with a sixunder 66 to win the INR 2 crore Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational 2025 tournament played at the Prestige Golfshire Club in Bengaluru on Saturday Cheemas 666466 sublime finalround effort helped him total 20under 196 for the 54hole event as he clinched his fourth professional title and third win on the PGTI main tour by a twostroke margin The victory saw 35yearold Cheema pick up a winning cheque worth INR 30 lakh that propelled him from 28th position to 10th place in the PGTI Order of MeritBengalurus Khalin Joshi 656766 carded a last round of 66 to finish runnerup with a total of 18under 198 Faridabads Abhinav Lohan 666570 finished third at 15under 201 following his third round of 70Yuvraj Sandhu finished tied fourth at 12under 204 and as a result moved up from third to first position in the PGTI Order of Merit PGTI Ranking leader Yuvrajs season earnings now read INR 5467300 On Saturday Aman Raj matched the course record of 63 which was set earlier in the week by Gaurav Pratap Singh and Saptak Talwar Aman thus finished tied sixth at 11under 205Pranavi Urs 716572 had the best finish among the lady professionals as she ended the tournament in tied 18th place with a total of eightunder 208Cheema the overnight leader by one shot drove home the advantage while playing in the second session along with the amateurs on Saturday Cheema who began his round from the 10th didnt have the ideal start when he bogeyed the 11th The tall and lanky Cheema then made huge strides forward when he picked up three birdies on the back nine including a 30foot conversionOn the windiest day of the week with challenging pin positions Cheema made the frontnine count as he added four more birdies to his card including three conversions from a range of 10 to 20 feet He also hit a great approach for a tapin on the fourthCheema who looked extremely confident and relaxed during the week said Playing alongside amateurs while competing for the main prize is always challenging and I feel that I handled that well I was also fortunate to have very cooperative amateurs in my groupFortunately playing in the afternoon session I had a number to aim at as Khalin had set the mark at 18under after the morning session That helped me plan my round I putted really well through the week and made some clutch putts today I felt comfortable after making the birdie putt on the seventh which gave me a twoshot cushionIve been playing well this year but that did not reflect in my results However I was in good rhythm over the last three events and the momentum kept building coming into this event added Angad who won his previous title in Vizag last year to end an 11year victory droughtKhalin Joshi who was overnight third and two off the lead finished the morning session on day three as the leader in the clubhouse after a round of 66 that featured seven birdies and a bogeyThe 32yearold Joshi an international winner jumped into contention with a late flurry of birdies on the par3 15th and 17th holes where he sank a 12footer and landed his tee shot within three feet respectivelyKhalin who earned a cheque worth INR 20 lakh moved up from 12th to seventh place in the PGTI Order of MeritThe tournament combined the Professional Championship with a thrilling ProAm component bringing together professionals and amateurs in a dynamic and engaging way The threeday 54hole championship featured 60 men and 12 women professionals competing for the same prize purseThe event also featured three ProAm rounds in a rotational format with 48 professionals teeing off in the morning while the remaining 24 paired up with 72 amateurs in the afternoon session IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/kapil-dev-grant-thornton-invitational-angad-cheema-dominates-final-round-with-66-to-win-613093.html Sat, 26 Apr 2025 23:55:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-indian-american-theegala-and-rai-shoot-9-under-lie-13thin-zurich-classic-612921.html Avondale USA April 25 IndianAmerican Sahith Theegala partnering another pro with an Indian touch Aaron Rai shot nineunder and the pair was Tied13th after the first day at the Zurich Classic The pair was five shots behind PGA Tour rookies Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo who totalled 14under Masters champion Rory McIlroy playing for the first time since winning the Green Jacket teamed with Shane Lowry to shoot an 8under 64 in Fourball bestball in the Zurich ClassicAnother IndianAmerican Akshay Bhatia who like Theegala landed an Indian sponsor Hero ahead of the Masters this month played with Carson Young and they totalled eightunder to be Tied18thSalinda and Velo opened with a tournamentrecord 58 in the Tours only team event They were 10under for the front nine with eight birdies and an eagle from Salinda on the Par5 seventh On the back nine they were fourunder to total 14underDanish identical twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard were a shot back The teams will play Foursomes alternate shot Friday Fourball Saturday and Foursomes SundayA large gallery gathered on the 10th tee at TPC Louisiana before 8 am local time to see McIlroy Shaking off an earlyweek illness he provided a few highlights after a relatively slow startLowry carried the team early birdieing three of the first holes after their backnine start and adding another on the par5 18thMcIlroys first birdie came on a nearly 20foot putt on No 1 which he celebrated with a lighthearted fistpump McIlroy followed that with an eagle on the par5 second hole hitting a 6iron from 204 yards to 5 feet to get to 8underCollin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama were tied for third at 61 with the teams of Cam DavisAdam Svensson Paul PetersonThomas Rosenmueller and Kris VenturaAntoine RoznerAdam Schenk had an albatross on the seventh holing out from 231 yards Schenk and Tyler Duncan shot 63Yannik and Jeremy Paul of Germany the other identical twins the third team with siblings in the field shot 67 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-indian-american-theegala-and-rai-shoot-9-under-lie-13thin-zurich-classic-612921.html Fri, 25 Apr 2025 14:28:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/kapil-dev-grant-thornton-invitational-gaurav-pratap-take-first-round-lead-with-course-record-63-612825.html Bengaluru April 24 Gaurav Pratap Singh of Noida fired a course record score of nineunder 63 to take the firstround lead at the Rs 2 crore Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational 2025 being played at the Prestige Golfshire Club in Bengaluru Gauravs flawless round broke the previous course record of fiveunder 67 set by Rashid Khan in 2012 Delhis Arjun Prasad fresh from his runnerup finish in Delhi last week continued his fine form with an eightunder 64 as he held second position on day one Bengalurus Khalin Joshi struck a 65 to be placed third at the firstofitskind PGTI event with a mixed field of men and lady professionals Gaganjeet Bhullar Om Prakash Chouhan and Yuvraj Sandhu were among the prominent names bunched tied in sixth with scores of 67Hitaashee Bakshi had the best score among the lady golfers after she returned a 69 to be tied for 19thGaurav Pratap Singh began his day with a tapin birdie on the first and followed that up with a 20foot eagle conversion on the fifth Some outstanding tee shots with the 3wood and great wedge play helped Gaurav a winner of four pro titles including two on the PGTI main tour collect five more birdies between the eighth and the 16th The 40yearold finally drained a 15footer for birdie on the 17th to close the day with a phenomenal 63Everything came together well today as far as my game is concerned I was nursing a couple of injuries in my knee and wrist in the previous weeks but right now the body is in good shape and Im injuryfreeThis course is in peach condition and requires a lot of planning Im playing with a clear plan and using my 3wood more often than the driver because Im looking to place the ball well off the tee The plan seemed to work for me today The eagle early on in my round gave me a lot of momentum and was one of the highlights of my roundIts great to play this new format where the lady professionals are also competing for the main prize Im also looking forward to playing alongside the amateurs I would like to take this opportunity to thank PGTI President Mr Kapil Dev and Grant Thornton for getting this event back on the PGTI scheduleArjun Prasad currently placed second on the PGTI Order of Merit with five top10s this season posted nine birdies and a bogey on Thursday He landed it within five feet on five occasions and knocked in three birdie putts from a range of 10 to 12 feetArjun said The game is in great shape and that is evident from the fact that this is my second straight round of eightunder I fired an eightunder in the last round of last weeks event in Delhi So it feels like I resumed from where I left off the previous weekEarlier in the day the tournament was inaugurated with the unveiling of the trophy and ceremonial teeoffs by PGTI President tournament host and Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Bharat CEO Vishesh C Chandiok Vinod Chandiok leading Indian professionals Gaganjeet Bhullar and Tvesa Malik as well as former India cricketer Ajit AgarkarThe tournament combines the Professional Championship with a thrilling ProAm component bringing together professionals and amateurs in a dynamic and engaging way The threeday 54hole championship features 60 men and 12 women professionals competing for the same prize purseThe event will also feature three ProAm rounds in a rotational format with 48 professionals teeing off in the morning while the remaining 24 pair up with 72 amateurs in the afternoon sessionEach ProAm team will comprise one professional and three amateurs with scores combining the pros stroke play and the amateurs scramble format Prize money will be awarded to the top three professionals in the ProAm standings IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/kapil-dev-grant-thornton-invitational-gaurav-pratap-take-first-round-lead-with-course-record-63-612825.html Thu, 24 Apr 2025 22:33:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/masters-absence-fuels-si-woo-kim-into-contention-at-rbc-heritage-612090.html Hilton Head USA April 19 Missing his first Masters Tournament in nine years was painful for Si Woo Kim and winning this weeks RBC Heritage may well be the healing therapy to put him back in the right mood The South Korean star produced a sublime 7under 64 at Harbour Town on Friday to charge into tied second place on 10under two shots back of 36hole leader Justin Thomas in the USD 20 million PGA Tour Signature eventWorld No 1 Scottie Scheffler 70 who is tied sixth on 8under and fellow major champions Collin Morikawa 66 Brian Harman 69 and Wyndham Clark 70 all on 7under are amongst the heavyweights chasing Thomas who added a 69 to his opening 61 to lead on 12underKim a fourtime PGA Tour winner was peeved he missed the trip to Augusta National for the first time since 2017 I got so much frustrated last week watching the Masters but somehow I got to move on So Im just trying to focus this week said the 29yearold who entered the week on the back of two missed cuts in TexasI was kind of pressured like before two weeks to the Masters I knew I played last eight years at the Masters I dont want to miss it this year but somehow a lot of pressure on the Texas swing so I didnt make itThe likeable Kim is trying to use his frustration to ignite his game which has yet to fully light up this season He is still without a top10 through 11 starts but has registered four top25s While his ball striking has been solid Kims bane has largely been on the putting greens this year where he ranks 140th in Strokes Gained Putting He has dabbled between the broomhandle putter and short putter which he is using to great effect so far this week as he ranks second through 36 holesIt was a good round And then I wasnt feeling really good but somehow I kind of figure out on the golf course so kind of played good iron shots Ive got to more figure out my golf shot but it feels very comfortable Yeah we got two days more he saidHe produced a glorious eagle after firing a 276yard approach to five feet on the par5 5th hole to go along with six birdies and a single bogey to haul himself onto the leaderboard In 2018 Kim lost in a playoff at Harbour Town to Satoshi Kodaira of Japan hence he has an old score to settleIve been playing good here before so I like it You dont have to hit it far on this golf course Even short hitters can play which is why I like it he saidI wasnt feeling good even at the start of yesterday Driver feels like scary when Im on the tee Kind of worried too much If I hit it good its just go go go and look at the pin and not worry about anything This time I just worry about pretty much everything Just a bit more conservative play today IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/masters-absence-fuels-si-woo-kim-into-contention-at-rbc-heritage-612090.html Sat, 19 Apr 2025 10:49:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/balance-open-tapendra-ghai-takes-four-shot-lead-in-round-3-611860.html New Delhi April 17 Gurugrams Tapendra Ghai produced the days best score of eightunder 62 to build an imposing fourshot lead in round three of the Rs 1 crore Calance Open being played at the Qutab Golf Course The 29yearold Ghai 646762 who won his only title on the PGTI in 2018 took his total to 17under193 after his penultimate round that helped him gain three spots from his overnight tied fourth placeDelhis Honey Baisoya 67 Ludhianas Pukhraj Singh Gill 68 and Chandigarhs Yuvraj Sandhu 69 were all tied for second place with matching totals of 13under 197Ghai who was the firstround leader before he slipped three shots behind the lead in round two was in terrific form with the putter on a day when everyone else struggled with the short putts He made single putts on his first eight holes where he sank three birdies and came up with a few outstanding parsavesHe then continued the good work after the turn as he picked up three birdies between the 10th and the 13th He drained his longest putt of the week a 30footer on the 13thGhais bogey on the 14th came against the run of play but he more than made up for it with birdies on his last three holes where again he displayed some quality putting and good bunker shotsI started off well with single putts on the first eight holes I also managed to close it out well with birdies on the last three holes That always gives momentum going into the next round The big difference compared to round one was that I made a lot more putts today Importantly this week Ive been able to execute what Ive been practicingIn the final round it will be all about staying in the present and executing well I have some familiarity with the Qutab Golf Course because I played here for three years as a junior However I must add that the course has changed a lot since then Ghai saidHoney Baisoya made six birdies and a bogey during his 65 to move up four places to tied second Pukhraj Singh Gills 66 helped him jump two spots to tied second while Yuvraj Sandhus 67 propelled him to tied secondMumbais Aryaman Aditya Mohan and Gurugrams Manu Gandas were the other two players who made big moves on Thursday as they both shot scores of 63 Aryaman ended the day in a tied sixth at 11under 199 while Manu closed the day in ninth place at 10under 200 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/balance-open-tapendra-ghai-takes-four-shot-lead-in-round-3-611860.html Thu, 17 Apr 2025 17:59:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/calance-open-tapendra-ghai-takes-four-shot-lead-in-round-3-611861.html New Delhi April 17 Gurugrams Tapendra Ghai produced the days best score of eightunder 62 to build an imposing fourshot lead in round three of the Rs 1 crore Calance Open being played at the Qutab Golf Course The 29yearold Ghai 646762 who won his only title on the PGTI in 2018 took his total to 17under193 after his penultimate round that helped him gain three spots from his overnight tied fourth placeDelhis Honey Baisoya 67 Ludhianas Pukhraj Singh Gill 68 and Chandigarhs Yuvraj Sandhu 69 were all tied for second place with matching totals of 13under 197Ghai who was the firstround leader before he slipped three shots behind the lead in round two was in terrific form with the putter on a day when everyone else struggled with the short putts He made single putts on his first eight holes where he sank three birdies and came up with a few outstanding parsavesHe then continued the good work after the turn as he picked up three birdies between the 10th and the 13th He drained his longest putt of the week a 30footer on the 13thGhais bogey on the 14th came against the run of play but he more than made up for it with birdies on his last three holes where again he displayed some quality putting and good bunker shotsI started off well with single putts on the first eight holes I also managed to close it out well with birdies on the last three holes That always gives momentum going into the next round The big difference compared to round one was that I made a lot more putts today Importantly this week Ive been able to execute what Ive been practicingIn the final round it will be all about staying in the present and executing well I have some familiarity with the Qutab Golf Course because I played here for three years as a junior However I must add that the course has changed a lot since then Ghai saidHoney Baisoya made six birdies and a bogey during his 65 to move up four places to tied second Pukhraj Singh Gills 66 helped him jump two spots to tied second while Yuvraj Sandhus 67 propelled him to tied secondMumbais Aryaman Aditya Mohan and Gurugrams Manu Gandas were the other two players who made big moves on Thursday as they both shot scores of 63 Aryaman ended the day in a tied sixth at 11under 199 while Manu closed the day in ninth place at 10under 200 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/calance-open-tapendra-ghai-takes-four-shot-lead-in-round-3-611861.html Thu, 17 Apr 2025 18:00:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/we-may-see-shubhankar-aditi-team-up-in-la28-igu-welcomes-inclusion-of-mixed-team-golf-in-olympics-611729.html New Delhi April 16 The Indian Golf Union IGU has welcomed the inclusion of the Mixed Team Golf Event in the Los Angeles Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee At the Los Angeles Olympics we might see Shubhankar Sharma and Aditi Ashok teeing off together for India the IGU wrote in a post on social media on Wednesday The Indian Golf Union welcomes the inclusion of the Mixed Team Golf Event in the LA2028 Olympics by iocmedia it saidAt the Paris Olympic Games in 2024 golf was conducted as an individual discipline for men and women But the IOC has approved inclusion of mixed team golf to maintain gender balance and at the same time bring in a new format of the sport to attrack more eyeballsThe International Golf Federation IGF on Tuesday confirmed that the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee IOC has approved the addition of an Olympic Golf MixedTeam Event which will debut at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 LA28 and complement the Mens Individual Olympic Golf Competition and the Womens Individual Olympic Golf Competition All three Olympic Golf events will be contested at The Riviera Country Club at the LA28 GamesThe event programme and athlete quotas for LA28 were approved by the IOC Executive Board on April 9 With a total of 351 medal events 22 more than at Paris 2024 329 the LA28 programme maintains the core athlete quota of 10500 with an extra 698 allocated for the five sports proposed by the LA28 Organising Committee BaseballSoftball Cricket Flag Football Lacrosse and SquashThe event programme for LA28 was developed based on the requests presented by the International Sports Federations to the IOCThe decision from the IOC Executive Board followed the recommendation from the Olympic Programme Commission and the principles approved in 2023 gender equal globally appealing cost and complexity conscious athlete focused With the inclusion of boxing approved by the IOC Session in March 2025 the LA28 sports programme is composed of 31 sports with an additional five sports proposed by the Organising Committee and approved by the IOC in 2023Golf is one of six sports joining Archery Athletics 4x100m mixed relay Gymnastics Rowing Coastal Beach Sprint and Table Tennis to add a mixedgender competition for LA28 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/we-may-see-shubhankar-aditi-team-up-in-la28-igu-welcomes-inclusion-of-mixed-team-golf-in-olympics-611729.html Thu, 17 Apr 2025 01:01:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-dagar-registers-another-top-10-finish-in-south-africa-611312.html Cape Town April 14 Diksha Dagar shot her best round of the week with a 4under 68 and grabbed a top10 finish at the Investec SA Womens Open in what was windy conditions on Sunday around Erinvale Country and Golf Estate Diksha finished with rounds of 72716968 for a total of 8under 280 for the week It was Dikshas second straight Top10 in South Africa after T9 in Joburg and the third of the season as she was runnersup in Morocco She was also T11 in New South Wales as the season promises to be a good oneAnother fine performer was Pranavi Urs who shots 69 in the final round to be T11 and her rounds were 72677369 and a total of 7under for four roundsRookie Avani Prashanth 68737373 was T50 with an even par total while Tvesa Malik 70717673 totalled 2over 290 and was T58Frenchwoman Perrine Delacour secured her second Ladies European Tour LET victory in windy conditionsA round of 70 2 which included four birdies and two bogeys was enough for Delacour to secure her second win on the LET on 14under par She was kept under pressure with the leaderboard constantly shifting on the final day with so many players in contentionThe Frenchwoman produced a great shot on the 15th hole to give herself a tapin birdie putt She followed this up with another birdie on the 16th to make it backtoback and a solid finish in front of the spectatorsDelacour came T65 in last weeks Joburg Ladies Open so will be very pleased with this resultTwo shots behind finished Casandra Alexander who fired a round of the day of 66 6 to end the week on 12under parAustralias Kelsey Bennett and Englands Bronte Law finished in a tie for third place on 11under par after 72 holesIn solo fifth place was South Africas Kiera Floyd The 20yearold who was two shots off the pace heading into the final day had great home support throughout the whole roundThree players secured a tie for sixth place with Hong Kongs Ginnie Ding Germanys Laura Fuenfstueck and Switzerlands Chiara Tamburlini all posted nineunder par after the four roundsIndias Diksha Dagar and Wales Chloe Williams rounded out the top 10 with eightunder par on their scorecardsThis tournament marks the last Sunshine Ladies Tour event of the season and so Alexander claimed the Investec Order of Merit finishing on 3149 points IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-dagar-registers-another-top-10-finish-in-south-africa-611312.html Mon, 14 Apr 2025 19:19:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-four-indians-make-cut-as-pranavi-is-in-top-20-at-sa-womens-open-611079.html Cape Town April 12 Four of the five Indian women made the cut at the Investec SA Womens Open golf championship here on Saturday Leading them was Mysurus Pranavi Urs who shot a round of 5under 67 as she went up to Tied16th after being Tied68 a day earlier Added to her firstround 72 Pranavi is now 5under for two rounds and six shots behind Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland 6865 Tvesa Malik 7071 at T34 Avani Prashanth 6874 at T44 and Diksha Dagar 7271 also made the cut but Rhea Purvi 7275 fell short and misse cutThe cut was applied at oneunder par with 70 players making it through to the final two days of actionTamburlini carded 65 7 to take a oneshot lead at the halfway stage She began the day three shots off the pace in T10 but had a bogeyfree second dayPranavi formerly a multiple winner on the Hero Womens Pro Golf Tour had five birdies and no bogeys with birdies on the fourth fifth seventh 13th and 16th holes Tvesa had three birdies on the eighth 14th and 16th and dropped shots on the 12th and the 15th Avani had an eagle two on Par4 fourth two birdies four bogeys and a double bogey in her 74 but made the cutIt was the fourth cut she had made in five starts this season the only missed one being last week in JoburgTamburlini is being chased by Frances Perrine Delacour the overnight leader who impressively stayed bogeyfree through 35 holes before dropping her only shot of the tournament on the final hole Germanys Aline Krauter also Fridays tied leader with Delacour on eightunderpar after 36 holes IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-four-indians-make-cut-as-pranavi-is-in-top-20-at-sa-womens-open-611079.html Sat, 12 Apr 2025 23:24:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/sa-womens-open-golf-avani-placed-in-top-10-with-4-under-68-tvesa-in-32nd-spot-610916.html Cape Town April 11 Avani Prashanth placed herself in the top 10 after a bogeyfree 4under 68 in the opening round at the SA Womens Open golf tournament Avani had two birdies on either side of the Par72 course and trailed the leaders Frances Perrine Delacour and Germanys Aline Krauter by three shots at Erinvale Country amp Golf Estate Another Indian Tvesa Malik a winner on the Hero Womens Pro Golf Tour and Sunshine Ladies Tour had a great start with three birdies in the first three holes She then dropped a double bogey but steadied herself to pick one more birdie on the back nine on the 15th parred the others for a 2under 70 and was Tied32ndThree other Indians Diksha Dagar Pranavi Urs and Tvesa Malik shot even par 72 each to be 68thAvani birdied the third and the fifth and then added two more on the 11th and the 17th as she played superbly She found 13 of the 14 fairways and 17 of the 18 greens She needed 32 putts and some putts missed narrowly but the overall game looked very goodDelacour carded a bogeyfree round with an eagle on the third hole to make it a solid start The 31yearold who plays on both the LPGA and LET kept the momentum going with a birdie on the next hole and went on to add four more to her scorecard She captured her first LET title at the 2024 Dormy Open Helsingborg in Sweden and will be aiming to add a second to her name this weekGermanys Aline Krauter dropped her only shot of the day to finish sevenunderpar 65 in sunny and still conditions She had eight birdies across the front and back nine so she kept consistent throughout the 18 holes Krauter is joined by her Mum and Dad this week Krauters lone LET win came in India at the 2023 Hero Womens Indian OpenThe tight leaderboard had three players in a share of third place including Namibias Bonita Bredenhann Czech Sara Kouskova and Frances Lucie Malchirand on sixunderpar 66 There was a holeinone on 14 from Bredenhann IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/sa-womens-open-golf-avani-placed-in-top-10-with-4-under-68-tvesa-in-32nd-spot-610916.html Fri, 11 Apr 2025 21:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-tour-udayan-mane-builds-two-shot-lead-with-resolute-68-on-day-three-610922.html Ahmedabad April 11 Olympian Udayan Mane shot a resolute fourunder 68 to build a twoshot lead at a total of 14under 202 after round three of the INR 2 crore Indorama Ventures Open Golf Championship 2025 being played at the Kalhaar Blues amp Greens Golf Club in Ahmedabad Punebased Udayan Mane 696568 a winner of 12 titles and former PGTI Order of Merit champion was rocksolid on Friday as he extended his lead by one shot despite conceding an early doublebogey The 34yearold Udayan who also pocketed an eagle five birdies and a bogey on day three is now wellplaced to end an over threeyearlong victorydroughtBengalurus Khalin Joshi 706569 another former PGTI No 1 and winner of six titles who grew up playing junior and amateur golf alongside Udayan struck a 69 featuring four birdies and a bogey on the penultimate day to continue in second place and keep hopes alive of ending his winless streak that has lasted over two years Faridabads Abhinav Lohan 68 ended the day in third place at nineunder 207 while Chandigarhs Angad Cheema 70 was a further shot back in fourth positionAhmedabads Varun Parikh carded a 69 to occupy tied eighth place at fiveunder 211The swirling wind troubled Udayan Mane early on as he dropped a doublebogey on the second hole Mane then picked up five birdies till the 12th hole thanks to his outstanding drives and tee shots as well as a 30feet conversion on the seventhUdayan bogeyed the 13th but came back strong once again with his best drive of the day followed by a chipin for eagle on the 14th He was fiveunder on the four par5s in round threeMane playing at his former home course said After the early doublebogey I reminded myself that I know this course well and Im playing well so I just need to play the shot and not the situation Thats how I got goingThe eagle on the 14th was a major momentumgainer for me I produced a great drive there probably my longest drive of the day After an equally good second shot on the 14th I played the perfect chip from six yards that found the holeThe wind was slightly less than round two but it was swirling a lot more and that wasnt easy to deal withIts always fun playing along with Khalin in the same group It reminds me of our junior days since we competed a lot against each other growing up and there are many memories we have togetherIn the final round it will be all about keeping it simple making fairways and greens and playing smart shots keeping the situation in mindYuvraj Sandhu 72 Sachin Baisoya 70 and Ajeetesh Sandhu 72 were tied for fifth place at sevenunder 209 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-tour-udayan-mane-builds-two-shot-lead-with-resolute-68-on-day-three-610922.html Fri, 11 Apr 2025 22:09:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-tour-mane-surges-ahead-at-halfway-stage-in-ahmedabad-610759.html Ahmedabad April 10 Punes Udayan Mane playing at his former home course struck the days jointlowest score of sevenunder 65 to surge into the lead at a total of 10under 134 after Round Two of the INR 2 crore Indorama Ventures Open Golf Championship 2025 at the Kalhaar Blues amp Greens Golf Club here on Thursday Mane 6965 a former winner at Kalhaar gained seven spots from his overnight tied eighth position as a result of his outstanding show on ThursdayBengalurus Khalin Joshi 7065 another former winner at Kalhaar also posted a 65 the days joint lowest score to move up 12 spots and occupy second position at nineunder 135 at the end of round twoThe Chandigarh duo of Ajeetesh Sandhu 67 and Yuvraj Sandhu 68 were placed tied third at sevenunder 137 Varun Parikh 68 the only Ahmedabadbased player to make the cut ended round two in tied 16th place at twounder 142The cut came down at fourover 148 Fiftyfour professionals made the cutMane sank two birdies on the front nine and added six more on the back nine till the 17th Mane left himself birdie putts within seven feet on all the holes except the 17th where he drained it from 18 feet His only bogey came as a result of a threeputt on the closing 18th Kalhaar has been my home course for a couple of years and Ive also won here before so I know this track well However Ive never played Kalhaar with this much wind so todays round was special and added a spring in my step as I look forward to the weekend Mane saidI hit the ball well made a lot of putts and importantly played smart I was not overly aggressive on the par5s as I chose to lay up on a couple of them Im proud of the way I handled myself in these tough conditions and hit the shots that I needed to the Olympian golfer addedKhalin Joshi who began the day from the backnine collected two birdies and an eagle between the 11th and 14th to make the turn at fourunder for the day Joshi then added three more birdies on the front nine as he landed it close through the dayI think I was very calm today and more confident of my hitting and putting as compared to round one During the Indian Open week I went through a small swing change as I was working on my posture and ball position I feel a lot more comfortable after making those changes Joshi saidIve played well here at Kalhaar in the past having also won here Its a ballstrikers golf course and I enjoy playing here The wind is always a big factor here and so is the length of the course and the challenges posed by the undulating greens as the pins can be tricky a lot of times You need to trust your instincts here he added IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-tour-mane-surges-ahead-at-halfway-stage-in-ahmedabad-610759.html Thu, 10 Apr 2025 23:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-tour-pukhraj-gill-abhinav-lohan-fire-66-each-to-share-lead-after-first-round-610585.html Ahmedabad April 9 Pukhraj Singh Gill of Ludhiana and Faridabads Abhinav Lohan fired opening round scores of sixunder 66 to hold the joint lead at the INR 2 crore Indorama Ventures Open Golf Championship 2025 at the Kalhaar Blues amp Greens Golf Club here on Wednesday The five players bunched in tied third place at fourunder 68 were Mysurus Yashas Chandra Delhi golfers Sachin Baisoya and Anshul Kabthiyal Hyderabads Vishesh Sharma and Chandigarhs Amrit LalAmong the Ahmedabadbased professionals Varun Parikh was the highestplaced at tied 48th after he shot a 74Pukhraj Singh Gill produced a bogeyfree effort during his round of 66 on Day One The 28yearold Pukhraj who made most fairways and greens thanks to his excellent ballstriking sank three birdies each on the front nine and back nineGill left himself two tapins and also chipped in for a birdie on the 15th He holed a 15footer for birdie tooThis course suits me as it rewards good ballstriking especially off the tees I played both the nines well The wind was up early on in my round so the pars at the beginning were quite stabilizing for me and gave me a decent start A bogeyfree start is always welcome Pukhraj saidIve had a consistent run so far this season and I enjoy a good comfort level at this course I therefore feel confident of performing well this weekAbhinav Lohan was coleader with Pukhraj Singh Gill Lohan a winner of multiple PGTI titles made seven birdies and a bogey in round oneIndian golf legend Jeev Milkha Singhs 15yearold son Harjai Milkha Singh playing the tournament as an amateur carded an 81 on Wednesday to be tied for 110thThe tournament being played at Kalhaar Blues amp Greens has a field of 126 players including 123 professionals and three amateurs The event is being played in the strokeplay format consisting of four rounds of 18 holes each The top 50 players and ties will make the cut after two rounds The par for the course is 72 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-tour-pukhraj-gill-abhinav-lohan-fire-66-each-to-share-lead-after-first-round-610585.html Wed, 09 Apr 2025 22:01:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-and-pranavi-make-the-cut-in-rain-hit-joburg-ladies-open-609938.html Johannesburg South Africa April 5 Pranavi Urs faltered in the second round at the weatherhit Joburg Ladies Open but made the 36hole cut alongside Diksha Dagar who turned in an even par round in the second round Diksha 7173 and Pranavi 7077 at the Par73 Modderfontein Golf Club saw them positioned at T22 and T56th respectively Things did not turn out too well for the other two Indians Avani Prashanth 7774 and Tvesa Malik 7779 and they missed the cutAfter the suspension of Round Two as it happened a day earlier the Joburg Ladies Open resumed at a later start time of 10 am local time It was a wet week after heavy rainfall and a flooded course caused the tournament to be reduced to 54 holesEnglands Mimi Rhodes leads the way having completed the second round over two days The rookie started the day five holes in with Saturday seeing a bogeyfree day with a further four birdies rolling in taking her Round Two score to 12under parFor Pranavi it has been a strange week When play was first suspended on the first day she was 5under through 13 holes but when play resumed the following day she added a birdie to go 6under Then there was a reversal of fortunes as she had three bogeys in a row and ended with a round of 70In the second round she had four birdies five birdies and a triple bogey in an actionpacked upanddown round She carded 77 but made the cut on the lineDiksha had a bogeyfree first round with two birdies and no bogeys In the second round she had one birdie and two bogeys on the front nine and then eight straight pars before closing the round with a birdie on the 18th for an evenpar round She was T22If Mimi Rhodes wins this will make backtoback wins for the 23yearold having won her maiden LET win at the Ford Womens NSW Open in Australia two weeks ago This would make it a dream start to the season for the rookie Only one shot back is South Africas Cassandra Alexander at nine under par and she sits on T2 alongside Irelands Lauren WalshSitting two shots back is rookie Kajsa Arwefjall who also had a great front nine with five birdies carding sevenunder par After 36 holes of action following a week of uncertainty in Joburg 64 players made the cut which fell at oneoverpar IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-and-pranavi-make-the-cut-in-rain-hit-joburg-ladies-open-609938.html Sun, 06 Apr 2025 00:08:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/aeroplaza-panchkula-golf-league-to-debut-on-april-7-with-16-teams-224-players-610017.html DW Bureau Panchkula Aprilnbsp nbsp6 2025 The Panchkula Golf Club will be hosting the inaugural Aeroplaza Panchkula Golf League APGL from the 7th 23rd April 2025 The League is a Team Championship contested by 16 teams of 14 members each It will be played in 2 stages namely the Round Robin stage followed by the Knockout stage each with different scoring systems which will test the players skills strategy and team spirit comprehensivelynbspAligned to its objectives of promoting the sport the League has a very inclusive structure which ensures each team comprises a lady golfer one senior golfer above 70 years of age and players from different handicap categoriesDetails of the League were shared at a curtain raiser press meet held at the Clubs premises here today and were shared by VS Kundu Chairman Organising Committee of APGL Col AS Dhillon Retired General Manager Panchkula Golf Club and Member Secretary Organising Committee APGL Swadhin Patel Chief Referee APGL and Digraj Singh Tournament Director APGL Vishal Dhall Managing Director Aeroplaza also participated in the press conference Notably Aeroplaza is the title sponsor of the Panchkula Golf League The teams were also introduced to the media at the press conference and one ownerrepresentative per team was present in tournament attire at the curtain raiser eventV S KunduIAS Chairman of the Organising Committee APGL said The Organising Committee has worked hard to get this League off the ground and we are confident that it will serve as a catalyst to enhance the playing standards and camaraderie within the members of Panchkula Golf Club both of which are important to promote the sport in the club and the tricitynbspVishal Dhall Managing Director Aeroplaza said We are delighted to begin our association with the Panchkula Golf Club through this unique league which is certain to become one of the finest events in the tri city The Vision of the League resonates with our vision for the project we have started Both the League and the project wish to generate value enhance the ecosystem and make a positive difference to the games of the participants and the lives of our customersCol AS Dhillon Retired General Manager PGC amp Member Secretary Organising Committee APGL said A lot of effort has gone into getting the golf course and infrastructure in place for the 3 weeks ahead The members are excited and we have quality teams in place to execute it as well Our members are in for a treatnbspDigraj Singh Tournament Director APGL said A unique scoring system has been devised under the guidance of the Organising Committee and additionally we bring the learnings from the various leagues that we have conducted The format requires all players to contribute and give their 100 per cent and this is the best form of competition and the true test of team strength and synergyDigraj added During stage 1 of the league seven 7 days of round robin play will be held which means each team plays every other in the group Eight 8 matches are slated to be played each day The Knockout stage starts with the quarterfinals which will be held on April 18 The quarters will be followed by the semifinals on April 20 and the grand finale on April 23 at Panchkula Golf ClubnbspThe teams in Group A are Highland Kings ADS Falcons Golfing Panthers Aces by Vintage Buildtech Fantastic Fours Clubs on Flames Sneakin Golfers and Victory WavesnbspIn Group B teams include Golfing Eagles ParTee Crashers Tee Titans Green Warriors Raging Bulls Tee Birds Shivalik Swingers and Hansa Legends https://dailyworld.in/golf/aeroplaza-panchkula-golf-league-to-debut-on-april-7-with-16-teams-224-players-610017.html Sun, 06 Apr 2025 17:32:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pranavi-t-4-with-five-holes-to-play-diksha-is-t-21-in-rd-1-of-joburg-open-609669.html Johannesburg April 4 Pranavi Urs was in fine form before the first round of the Joburg Ladies Open was suspended due to a flooded course here at Modderfontein Golf Club When play was suspended eight groups were yet to finish 18 holes and will resume on Friday to complete their rounds Pranavi at 5under through 13 holes was one of themEnglands Mimi Rhodes was able to finish 18 holes and continue her dream start in her rookie season leading with a round of 65 8 on the par73 coursePranavi a former winner at her home tour Womens Pro Golf Tour started with a bogey on the par5 tenth but then recovered quickly with five birdies on the remaining eight holes on the back nine She added one more on the second and was 5under to be T4 when play was suspendedRhodes led at 8under with Casandra Alexander of South Africa second at 7under and Singapores Shannon Tan 6under at thirdApart from Pranavi the other Indians had completed their round with Diksha Dagar 71 at T21 but Avani Prashanth and Tvesa Malik had a rough day with 4over 77 each and were T107th and will need a low second round to make the cutRhodes 23 who started on the 10th tee started her round with a birdie which set the tone for the rest of the day Rhodes secured a bogeyfree round making backtoback birdies on 12 and 13 followed by a further birdie on 16 The rookie then had a further birdie blitz on the front nine with four more to finish the round eightunder parJust two weeks ago Rhodes secured her maiden Ladies European Tour LET title at the Ford Womens NSW Open in Australia She is hoping this momentum continues for the rest of the weekSouth Africas Casandra Alexander currently sits in second place with a round of 66 7 dropping her only shot of the day on the 3rd holeIrelands Lauren Walsh and Pranavi are currently in a tie for fourth place on fiveunder par with Urs still to play four holesThree players are currently in a tie for sixth place on fourunder par Englands Alice Hewson and Swedens Kajsa Arwefjall both fired rounds of 69 4 while another English star Hannah Screen is currently fourunder par with two holes left to play IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pranavi-t-4-with-five-holes-to-play-diksha-is-t-21-in-rd-1-of-joburg-open-609669.html Fri, 04 Apr 2025 11:26:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/adani-invitational-golf-saptak-talwar-bags-maiden-title-with-thrilling-win-on-home-turf-609783.html Greater Noida April 4 Saptak Talwar of Greater Noida ended a long wait for his maiden title after he outshined his nearest rivals at his home course with a flawless final round of fiveunder 67 at the Rs 15 crore Adani Invitational Golf Championship 2025 played at the Jaypee Greens Golf amp Spa Resort in Greater Noida The 26yearold Saptaks 67726967 superb last round effort lifted him two spots from his overnight third position Talwar who had previously posted two runnerup finishes on the PGTI since turning pro in 2021 ended the week with a winning total of 13under 275 and a onestroke victory marginI remember the last PGTI tournament here in 2013 I was giving my exams and I came here to watch the final round and those memories are still fresh in my mind To have my first win at Jaypee Greens in the Adani Invitational feels fantastic Talwar told IANSTalwar who studied at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut USA prior to turning professional picked up the winning cheque worth INR 2250000 that propelled him from seventh to fourth position in the PGTI Order of MeritOvernight joint leaders Arjun Prasad 68696970 of Delhi and Chandigarhs Yuvraj Sandhu 70676971 finished second and third at 12under 276 and 11under 277 respectivelySaptak Talwar who was two off the lead at the start of round four enjoyed a hot start on Friday as he capitalized with birdies on the first two par5s the second and fourth holes Saptak then added two more birdies on the fifth and 10th using his wedges to great effect He narrowly missed a fivefeet eagle putt on the par5 12th where he picked up his fifth birdie of the dayTalwar who had made three threeputts for bogeys earlier in the week then saw it home with pars on the last six holes He made a crucial par save from eight feet on the 16th that helped keep his card bogeyfree and gave him the momentum towards the endArjun also searching for his first title produced five birdies and three bogeys during his fourth round of 70 Arjun had the opportunity to take the match into a playoff before he bogeyed the final holeThe tournament was fantastic the way it was organized was amazing Having Adani as one our sponsors for the event is fantastic As far as my game goes I think I played pretty well and just fell short towards the end but I am very happy with the way I have been playing throughout this season Arjun told IANSYuvraj Sandhu a twotime winner on the PGTI this season sank five birdies on the last day but an early doublebogey and two bogeys on the backnine put him out of contention as he signed for a 71There was a holeinone by Sri Lankan N Thangaraja on the 14th during his fourth round of 71 He secured tied 17th place at twounder 286Nineteenyearold Sukhman Singh of Greater Noida the lone amateur to make the cut won the prize for the best performance by an amateur Sukhman totaled sixover 294 for the week to finish tied 46thAdani Enterprises Director Pranav Adani present at the event lauded the proceedings and congratulated the winners after the conclusion of the tournamentIm sure all the winners and players had a good game today It is truly our privilege as the Adani Group to be associated with and have a partnership with PGTI for the Adani Invitational Championship Cup Sport has always been close to our hearts as a group I believe that a growing India a growing country needs sportsmen who can make the nation proud said Adani during the prize ceremony IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/adani-invitational-golf-saptak-talwar-bags-maiden-title-with-thrilling-win-on-home-turf-609783.html Fri, 04 Apr 2025 20:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/kapil-dev-backs-adani-groups-push-to-make-golf-mainstream-sport-in-india-608855.html Ahmedabad March 29 Ahmedabad witnessed a landmark moment for Indian golf with the launch of the AdaniPGTI Golf Training Academy at the Belvedere Golf amp Country Club The initiative a joint venture between the Adani Group and the Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI aims to elevate golfs presence in India and cultivate a new generation of global champions Adding to the excitement the Adani Group also announced its entry into Indian professional golf with the launch of the Adani Invitational Golf Championship 2025Cricket legend Kapil Dev who attended the launch event lauded the Adani Groups commitment to promoting golf and other sports in India In his address he emphasised the importance of corporate support in nurturing sporting talent and broadening the accessibility of noncricketing disciplinesMost of the time we see focus on cricket but it makes me very happy that you are giving time to other sports like golf Every tournament is a boost to the game Kapil Dev saidTournaments bring in good people attract top companies and thats what we need to grow the sportDrawing a parallel with cricket Kapil Dev highlighted how academies play a crucial role in shaping future stars Why do we go to good schools and colleges Because they produce top students The same applies to sports If there are quality academies in every city we will create good golfers just like we have produced great cricketersThe AdaniPGTI Golf Training Academy aims to provide worldclass infrastructure and coaching to aspiring golfers offering them a platform to develop their skills at a professional level With training facilities in Ahmedabad the initiative seeks to make golf more accessible and nurture young talents across the countryKapil Dev also stressed the importance of hosting largescale tournaments and grassroots events to encourage young players If there are more tournaments for children parents will feel motivated to push them towards the sport Thats the future creating opportunities through wellequipped ranges and practice grounds he added IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/kapil-dev-backs-adani-groups-push-to-make-golf-mainstream-sport-in-india-608855.html Sat, 29 Mar 2025 13:25:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-two-time-champion-chawrasia-confirmed-for-india-open-608198.html Gurugram March 24 SSP Chawrasia a twotime winner and one of Indias golfing legends is all set to tee off at the upcoming Hero Indian Open that will be held this week at the DLF Golf and Country Club The 2025 edition of the tournament with a prize purse of US 225 million will be held from March 2730 2025Chawrasia is one of the only three players to have won the Hero Indian Open title backtoback when he achieved the feat in 20162017 For the 2025 edition of the Hero Indian Open SSP Chawrasia has been granted a special invitation by Dr Pawan Munjal Executive Chairman of Hero MotoCorp which is the title sponsor of the prestigious eventChawrasia possesses an amazing record at this tournament having finished runnerup on four occasions 2015 2013 2006 and 1999 at HIO apart from his two wins in 2016 and 2017 Notably he was second or better each time between 2013 and 2017 the HIO was not held in 2014 because of scheduling changesChawrasia 46 also has the distinction of winning a DP World Tour event at the DLF on two different occasions he won the 2014 Avantha Masters and then the 2017 Hero Indian Open His two other DPWT wins came in 2008 at Emaar Masters at the DGC and the HIO at the Delhi Golf Club in 2016 for a total of four wins on the DP World Tour Overall Chawrasia has six international titlesChawrasia is one of the three past champions playing in the 2025 edition with the others being Keita Nakajima 2024 and Marcel Siem 2023The field of 138 includes two other players who have won titles in the last two weeks Richard Mansell who won the Porsche Singapore Classic on Sunday and Joshua Berry who won the Kolkata Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour to earn a passage into the HIOOne of the strongest fields to have ever assembled on Indian soil at the Hero Indian Open the tournament will see five players who have won on the DPWT in the 2025 season Mansell Singapore Classic Callum Hill Joburg Open John Parry AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open Johannes Veerman Nedbank Golf and Ryggs Johnston ISPS Handa Australian OpenFour of the current Top 10 on the DP World Tours Race to Dubai rankings are featured on the list with Parry 3rd Daniel Hillier 5th Veerman 9th and Mansell 10th12 winners from the 2024 DPWT season are also there in the field IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-two-time-champion-chawrasia-confirmed-for-india-open-608198.html Mon, 24 Mar 2025 22:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/igu-to-launch-inaugural-sixes-format-for-juniors-607990.html New Delhi March 23 Indias golf landscape is on the brink of a thrilling transformation as the Indian Golf Union IGU will organise the firstever Golf Sixes Junior Tournament on Monday at the DLF Golf amp Country Club in Gurgaon Organised in partnership with the world golf rules governing body The RampA Golf Sixes is designed to make the sport more dynamic accessible and engaging for young players with its sixhole teambased structure opening the door for golf to become as popular and appealing to Indias youth as shorter formats of cricket like T20 and T10Indian Golf Union IGU president Brijinder Singh expressed his excitement and confidence that the new version of golf will create a wave of interest among the younger generationWe can expect a comparable success story Just as T20 revolutionised cricket by shortening the game and making it more dynamic and spectatorfriendly this new format of golf does the same It condenses the sport into a more exciting and engaging experience allowing a new generation to enjoy the thrill of the game in a shorter time frame Similarly SixHole Golf could capture the attention of younger players and audiences potentially driving a significant rise in the sports popularity Brijinder Singh said in a statementThe collaboration between the IGU and The RampA also underscores a shared commitment to longterm growth By focusing on players aged 12 and under the tournament directly contributes to growing the sport from the grassroots levelThe inaugural tournament will feature players from six statesunion territories in North India Delhi Haryana Punjab Uttarakhand Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh Each team will comprise of two players These regions each with their own golfing talent pools will bring a diverse array of young players to the tournament showcasing the increasing interest in junior golf across the countryThe shorter format of sixhole golf is emerging as a promising way to make the sport more accessible and appealing to a younger generation with shorter attention spans This format aligns with the fastpaced lifestyle of modern youth and opens the door for golf to gain broader popularity IGU director general amp CEO Maj Gen retd Bibhuti Bhusan said IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/igu-to-launch-inaugural-sixes-format-for-juniors-607990.html Sun, 23 Mar 2025 17:23:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/koreas-byeong-hun-an-gets-his-focus-right-to-charge-into-contention-at-valspar-championship-607759.html Palm Harbor USA March 22 South Koreas Byeong Hun An hopes a mind shift in his mental approach will steer him to a maiden PGA Tour victory after charging into contention at the Valspar Championship with a 4under 67 on Friday The 33yearold An hit five birdies against a lone bogey at Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor Florida where his 5under total was good for tied second place alongside Japans Ryo Hisatsune 66 and 2023 FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland 67 American Jacob Bridgeman leads the USD 87 million tournament by one stroke after a 69Chinese Taipeis Kevin Yu and threetime PGA Tour winner Tom Kim sit in a share of 14th after rounds of 68 and 66 respectively as the Asian contingent showed up in strength on the second dayAfter making his Tour Championship debut and winning a second DP World Tour title at the Genesis Championship at the end of last season An took time to get his game into high gear in 2025 He needed seven starts before posting his first top10 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard earlier this month and was T52 at The Players Championship last weekendIm quite happy Im hitting it pretty well I had some great short game moments out there Puttings pretty decent Its been pretty good the last three weeks not missing many putts Its not like everythings going in but I love to have this kind of putting display the last few weeks so I hope this keeps going I think Im hitting it a lot better than the beginning of the year so hopefully this stays this way too said AnHe reckoned he became too resultoriented with his approach which led to the slow start in the new season which yielded three missed cuts in his first six tournaments before finishing T8 at Bay Hill His ball striking through 36 holes at Innisbrook has been immaculate as he ranks in the top 20 for Strokes Gained Off the Tee 8th and Approach the Green 16thIts swing a little different than on the range You get a little more kind of result base instead of making the swing I want to Ive been working on that the last couple weeks Its been feeling a lot better more toward the range and still wont be the same as the range swing but Im working on trying to make the same range swing out on the course as well said An who holds five career runnerup finishes on TourThe powerful Korean won on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 at the LECOM Suncoast Classic which location isnt too far away from Innisbrook and hopes the Florida vibes will shine brightly this weekend as he chases a first PGA Tour winI mean this year obviously win a Tour event and finish in the Tour Championship That would be my goal like every year said AnI lost my card in 2022 and then that LECOM Suncoast Classic was I think the third event for me Now Im back on the TOUR but that third event helped a lot It helped regain my confidence and it was kind of easy for the rest of the year because I had a win under my belt So that was definitely a big confidence booster because I had a terrible year beforeHisatsune 22 fired seven birdies against two bogeys for a 66 which propelled him into contention The young Japanese rising star converted two lengthy birdie putts from nearly 30 feet on the third and eighth holes as he chases a maiden Tour win He ranked fifth in Strokes Gained Putting on FridayIm very happy These last few weeks very tough weeks Then I was like a little nervous on the start But the start was a good birdie and then we get moving and I feel more comfortable said Hisatsune whose season includes one top10 in Mexico and four missed cuts including at last weeks Players IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/koreas-byeong-hun-an-gets-his-focus-right-to-charge-into-contention-at-valspar-championship-607759.html Sat, 22 Mar 2025 10:39:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-third-event-of-pgti-nexgen-to-tee-of-in-phillaur-on-march-25-607841.html Jalandhar March 22 The third event of the 2025 Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI NexGen season will be the Phillaur Open which will be played from March 25 27 at the Ranjitgarh Golf Club in Phillaur The ProAm event will be played on March 23 The tournament offers a prize purse of Rs 20 lakh and marks the return of professional golf and the PGTI to Phillaur after 14 years The event will be played over three rounds 54 holes with the cut being applied after two rounds 36 holes The top36 players and ties will make the cut for the third and final roundThe tournament features a field of 90 professionals including local names Amit Kumar and Swatanter Kumar both hailing from PhillaurThe first two events of the PGTI NexGen season held in Gurugram and Kapurthala over the last two weeks were won by Rajesh Kumar Gautam of Lucknow and Brijesh Kumar of Panchkula both of whom now jointly lead the 2025 PGTI NexGen Order of MeritThe winner of this years NexGen Order of Merit will earn an exemption on the main tour PGTI for the 2026 seasonAmandeep Johl CEO PGTI said Were excited about returning to Phillaur an important golfing centre in Punjab after a long gap of 14 years We thank Mr R S Gill and the Ranjitgarh Golf Club for supporting our endeavour of bringing professional golf back to Phillaur Punjab has been producing top golfers for India be it men professionals and amateurs or lady professionals and amateurs Bringing PGTI to Punjab ensures that the supply line for top golfers continuesThe first two PGTI NEXGEN events have witnessed thrilling contests and we look forward to another week of highquality golf here in Phillaur as the race to the top in the NEXGEN Order of Merit gets even more intense IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-third-event-of-pgti-nexgen-to-tee-of-in-phillaur-on-march-25-607841.html Sat, 22 Mar 2025 17:03:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-third-event-of-pgti-nexgen-to-tee-off-in-phillaur-on-march-25-607844.html Jalandhar March 22 The third event of the 2025 Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI NexGen season will be the Phillaur Open which will be played from March 25 27 at the Ranjitgarh Golf Club in Phillaur The ProAm event will be played on March 23 The tournament offers a prize purse of Rs 20 lakh and marks the return of professional golf and the PGTI to Phillaur after 14 years The event will be played over three rounds 54 holes with the cut being applied after two rounds 36 holes The top36 players and ties will make the cut for the third and final roundThe tournament features a field of 90 professionals including local names Amit Kumar and Swatanter Kumar both hailing from PhillaurThe first two events of the PGTI NexGen season held in Gurugram and Kapurthala over the last two weeks were won by Rajesh Kumar Gautam of Lucknow and Brijesh Kumar of Panchkula both of whom now jointly lead the 2025 PGTI NexGen Order of MeritThe winner of this years NexGen Order of Merit will earn an exemption on the main tour PGTI for the 2026 seasonAmandeep Johl CEO PGTI said Were excited about returning to Phillaur an important golfing centre in Punjab after a long gap of 14 years We thank Mr R S Gill and the Ranjitgarh Golf Club for supporting our endeavour of bringing professional golf back to Phillaur Punjab has been producing top golfers for India be it men professionals and amateurs or lady professionals and amateurs Bringing PGTI to Punjab ensures that the supply line for top golfers continuesThe first two PGTI NEXGEN events have witnessed thrilling contests and we look forward to another week of highquality golf here in Phillaur as the race to the top in the NEXGEN Order of Merit gets even more intense IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-third-event-of-pgti-nexgen-to-tee-off-in-phillaur-on-march-25-607844.html Sat, 22 Mar 2025 17:05:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/womens-nsw-open-diksha-and-pranavi-enter-top-10-as-avani-sits-at-25th-607852.html Wollongong Australia March 22 Diksha Dagar stayed in the Top 10 for the third straight day and Pranavi Urs joined her at the end of the third round of the Ford Womens NSW Open here on Saturday Diksha added 2under 69 to her earlier rounds of 6768 and at 9under for 54 holes is placed Tiedeighth in windy conditions Pranavi after 7168 shot a superb 5under 66 to rise to T10 while rookie Avani Prashanth did her reputation a lot good with a 1under 70 that included an eagle on the Par13th This was the third cut in as many starts for Avani who has won pro titles on her home tour the Womens Professional Golf Tour WPGT and on the Ladies European Tour LET AccessEnglish rookie Mimi Rhodes will take a oneshot lead into the final round after she carded a bogeyfree 68 3 to move to 15under par She leads Italian Alessandra Fanali 64 by one and she is 14under whileAustralias Kirsten Rudgeley and Spains Nuria Iturrioz are tied for third at 12underDiksha winner of two LET titles and second in the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco this year had three birdies on the 10th 11th and 13th and her sole dropped shot came on the seventhPranavi who played alongside fellow Indian Avani had a strange round She shot 5under and her five birdies came on the trot from the 10th to the 14th and the rest were all parsAvani bogeyed the ninth and was oneover till she came to the 13th which she eagled She dropped another shot on the 16th but picked a birdie on the 18th to ensure an underpar roundMimi Rhodes and Fanali the top two were both bogeyfree for the day The 23yearold Rhodes after a prolific amateur career is chasing a maiden victory on the LET this week in only her fourth event as a full memberIn a tie for third on 12under par sit Kirsten Rudgeley and Spains Nuria Iturrioz Sara Kouskova had a disappointing day at a windy Wollongong carding a 72 1 to move back into a tie for fifth on 11under par IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/womens-nsw-open-diksha-and-pranavi-enter-top-10-as-avani-sits-at-25th-607852.html Sat, 22 Mar 2025 18:16:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-john-parry-daniel-hillier-confirm-participation-for-indian-open-607693.html New Delhi March 21 The inform duo of Englands John Parry and New Zealands Daniel Hillier have confirmed their entry for the 2025 edition of Indian Open to be held from March 27 to 30 at the DLF Golf and Country Club The Indian Open sanctioned by DP World Tour and Indian Golf Union will see a total of 138 players from close to 30 countries who will battle it out next week for the USD 225 million prize purse on offerBoth Parry and Hillier are having a great season so far and are in the Top5 of the Race to Dubai rankings on the DP World TourParry currently 3rd on the DP World Tours Race to Dubai Rankings already has a trophy in India in his bag when he won the Delhi Challenge on the Hotelplanner Tour last year Soon after this Parry won twice more on the Hotelplanner Tour and added his first win on DPWT in 14 years at the Mauritius OpenHe got off to a great start in the 2025 season with a T8 in Australian PGA T2 in Alfred Dunhill in South Africa and a win at Mauritius followed by a runnerup finish in KenyaAnother player in great form and taking part in the Indian Open is the 25yearold Hillier runnerup at the 2025 Dubai Desert Classic Hillier has had steady finishes in the Top20s in Australia South Africa Bahrain and Qatar and sits at No 5 in the current R2D StandingsAmong other leading stars from the current Race to Dubai rankings are three other winners from the ongoing season They are Johannes Veerman No 8 on R2D winner of Nedbank Golf Challenge Callum Hill No 11 winner of Joburg Open and Ryggs Johnston No 14 winner of ISPS Handa Australian Open Also taking part is Jayden Schaper No 15 on the latest R2D rankingsThe Indian Open with incentives at multiple levels is a part of the Asian Swing which started in Singapore and ends with two events in China The winner of the Asian Swing gets an exemption into the next Rolex event the Genesis Scottish Open which is cosanctioned with PGA TourAnother incentive for all DPWT players is that they get points towards the Race to Dubai at the end of which the Top10 players not already exempt from the PGA Tour earn dual PGA Tour membership for the following yearThe 2025 edition of the Indian Open is set to witness one of its strongest fields ever with participation from 16 winners from the last and current season of the DP World Tour schedule 12 winners from the 2024 DPWT season will be joined by the four champions from the 2025 schedule all of whom would be serious contenders to hold the trophy aloft on March 30 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-john-parry-daniel-hillier-confirm-participation-for-indian-open-607693.html Fri, 21 Mar 2025 19:44:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/womens-open-golf-diksha-shoots-another-fine-round-lies-sixth-pranavi-and-avani-tied-19th-607701.html Wollongong Australia March 21 Diksha Dagar added another good round of 3under 68 and moved to 7under after the second round of the Womens Open in Wollongong Golf Club Diksha who was Tiedfourth after the first round is now Tiedsixth as Sara Kouskova 6763 joined Englands Mimi Rhodes 6862 to take the shared lead The leaders were at 12under and five ahead of Diksha Also making the cut with solid second round cards were Pranavi Urs 7168 and rookie Avani Prashanth 7267 At 3under for 36 holes they were Tied19thDiksha opened with a birdie on the first but dropped a shot on the fifth for the second day running She made up with a birdie on the seventh only to drop a shot on Par5 ninth for the second time in as many rounds Diksha once again made ample use of scoring on back with three birdies on the 13th 17th and the 18th and no bogeys for a 68On a course where the back nine starts on the ninth Pranavi ha a birdie start and added further birdies on the 14th 16th and the 17th There were no more birdies and she dropped a shot on the seventh for a 68Avani who has won pro titles on her home Tour the Womens Pro Golf Tour and the LETAS while being an amateur opened birdiebirdie on the front nine and had further birdies on the ninth 10th 13th 15th and the 16th but closed with a bogey She earlier dropped shots on the fourth and the fifth in her 67Both Mimi and Sara carded careerlow rounds but the second round was yet to be completed as 10 players are still left to finish as darkness set in New South WalesRhodes had a round to remember carding 10 birdies en route to a courserecord 62 This included a fabulous finishing birdie at the par3 8th after she had to wait over an hour to make the 10foot putt because of a thunder and lightning suspensionWith little light left on Friday evening Kouskova matched the rookies tally thanks to a bogeyfree round of 63 8 The Czech star also had to deal with the thunder suspension being pulled from the 13th hole where she was putting for eagle Kouskova kept her composure after the restart to convert the eagle She would card six birdies elsewhere for a flawless round of golfIn solo third on nineunder par is one of yesterdays leaders Kirsten Rudgeley 6568 at 9under Spains Blanca Fernandez and Swedens Moa Folke share fourth on eightunder parThe cut currently sits at oneover par with 10 players still left to finish at Wollongong Golf Club IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/womens-open-golf-diksha-shoots-another-fine-round-lies-sixth-pranavi-and-avani-tied-19th-607701.html Fri, 21 Mar 2025 21:12:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-dagar-is-off-to-solid-start-with-4-under-67-in-australia-607449.html Wollongong Australia March 20 Undeterred by the missed cut last week Diksha Dagar a twotime Ladies European Tour winner shot a fine 4under 67 in the first round of the Womens NSW Open Starting from the ninth which is the first hole on the back nine of the Wollongong Golf Club Diksha opened with a bogey but then had seven birdies in the next 10 holes Her fortunes reversed as she dropped three shots in four holes the third fifth and the sixth before she picked a last birdie on the seventhHer 67 put her tied fourth as Spains Nuria Iturrioz and home favourite Kirsten Rudgeley became the 18 hole leaders as both opened with rounds of 65 6Diksha who was runnerup in the seasonopener in Morocco at Lalla Meryem Cup had eight birdies but four bogeys three towards the end of her round saw her card only a 67Among other Indians Pranavi Urs shot even par 71 and was T37 while rookie Avani Prashanth who had a Top15 finish last week was T54 with 1over 72Pranavi had two birdies against two bogeys while Avani Prashanth had two birdies against three bogeysFourtime Ladies European Tour LET winner Iturrioz got the ball rolling in Australia carding seven birdies in the morning to set the target This was despite carding an early bogey at the par4 3rd holeAs the wind picked up in the afternoon Rudgeley made the element her friend as she got off to a hot start birdying the par5 1st Three more birdies followed at the 4th 5th and 8th with the Aussies only dropped shot coming at the 6th as she went out in 32Battling the wind a relishing Rudgeley would card three more birdies at the 11th 13th and 14th to match Iturriozs tally before a steady finish secured her the 65 6One adrift from the pair is Anna Magnusson who carded eight birdies on Thursday morning thanks to some great puttingSeven players share fourth on fourunder par Indias Diksha Finlands Ursula Wikstrom Czech Republics Sara Kouskova New Zealands Amelia Garvey Denmarks Cecilie FinneIpsen Thailands Aunchisa Utama and Switzerlands Kim MetrauxThis is a 72hole stroke play event with a 132player field IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-dagar-is-off-to-solid-start-with-4-under-67-in-australia-607449.html Thu, 20 Mar 2025 17:11:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-dagar-off-to-solid-start-with-4-under-67-in-australia-607450.html Wollongong Australia March 20 Undeterred by the missed cut last week Diksha Dagar a twotime Ladies European Tour winner shot a fine 4under 67 in the first round of the Womens NSW Open Starting from the ninth which is the first hole on the back nine of the Wollongong Golf Club Diksha opened with a bogey but then had seven birdies in the next 10 holes Her fortunes reversed as she dropped three shots in four holes the third fifth and the sixth before she picked a last birdie on the seventhHer 67 put her tied fourth as Spains Nuria Iturrioz and home favourite Kirsten Rudgeley became the 18 hole leaders as both opened with rounds of 65 6Diksha who was runnerup in the seasonopener in Morocco at Lalla Meryem Cup had eight birdies but four bogeys three towards the end of her round saw her card only a 67Among other Indians Pranavi Urs shot even par 71 and was T37 while rookie Avani Prashanth who had a Top15 finish last week was T54 with 1over 72Pranavi had two birdies against two bogeys while Avani Prashanth had two birdies against three bogeysFourtime Ladies European Tour LET winner Iturrioz got the ball rolling in Australia carding seven birdies in the morning to set the target This was despite carding an early bogey at the par4 3rd holeAs the wind picked up in the afternoon Rudgeley made the element her friend as she got off to a hot start birdying the par5 1st Three more birdies followed at the 4th 5th and 8th with the Aussies only dropped shot coming at the 6th as she went out in 32Battling the wind a relishing Rudgeley would card three more birdies at the 11th 13th and 14th to match Iturriozs tally before a steady finish secured her the 65 6One adrift from the pair is Anna Magnusson who carded eight birdies on Thursday morning thanks to some great puttingSeven players share fourth on fourunder par Indias Diksha Finlands Ursula Wikstrom Czech Republics Sara Kouskova New Zealands Amelia Garvey Denmarks Cecilie FinneIpsen Thailands Aunchisa Utama and Switzerlands Kim MetrauxThis is a 72hole stroke play event with a 132player field IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-dagar-off-to-solid-start-with-4-under-67-in-australia-607450.html Thu, 20 Mar 2025 17:11:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/adani-pgti-to-launch-invitational-golf-championship-607185.html Ahmedabad March 19 The Adani Group is set to enter Indian professional golf with the launch of Adani Invitational Golf Championship 2025 in partnership with the Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI the official sanctioning body of mens professional golf in India The inaugural tournament offering a Rs 15 crore prize pool will be held at Jaypee Greens Golf amp Spa Resort Greater Noida from April 14 marking PGTIs return to the venue after 11 yearsThis Adani Group initiative intends to promote and broaden golfs accessibility and elevate its status as a mainstream sport and also to cultivate the next generation of global champions from IndiaThe partnership extends to the establishment of a joint AdaniPGTI golf training academy at Belvedere Golf amp Country Club in Ahmedabad This initiative aligns with Adanis commitment to grassroots development and supports Indias 2036 Olympic bidWe are delighted to join hands with Kapil Dev Ji and the Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI to contribute to the growth of Indian professional golf said Pranav Adani director Adani Enterprises Limited Our goal is to cultivate Indian global champions in golf We are committed to enhancing accessibility to golf promoting greater participation and offering worldclass training and playing opportunities he addedKapil Dev president of the PGTI thanked the Adani Group for extending support to professional golf in India with the launch of the Adani Invitational Golf Championship 2025 The backing of the Adani Group one of the worlds biggest business houses will help the PGTI produce more champion golfers from India who will make the country proud on the international stage I expect to see golf fans in big numbers following their favourite players on the course during the tournament he saidTerming the Adani Invitational Golf Championship 2025 as a watershed moment for the PGTI Amandeep Johl CEO PGTI said This association will raise the stature of the Tour We thank the Adani Group our title sponsors for sharing PGTIs vision of creating more playing opportunities for Indian professionals With an attractive prize purse outstanding playing conditions at the Jaypee Greens Golf amp Spa Resort and a topnotch field vying for the title one can expect a spectacular week of golfing action at the eagerly awaited Adani Invitational Golf Championship 2025A pretournament event will be held on March 29 at The Belvedere Golf amp Country Club Ahmedabad Along with this event five leading PGTI professionals will conduct a golf clinic that will introduce the sport to 50 children from The Adani International School IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/adani-pgti-to-launch-invitational-golf-championship-607185.html Wed, 19 Mar 2025 13:27:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-wasim-khan-leads-round-one-after-shooting-six-under-66-in-kapurthala-607084.html Kapurthala March 18 Delhis Wasim Khan shot a sixunder 66 to lead after round one of the PGTI NexGen Kapurthala 2025 the second event of the PGTI NexGen season being played at the RCF Golf Course in Kapurthala Wasim struck seven birdies and a bogey during his opening round on Tuesday Delhis Ajay Baisoya was placed second with a score of fiveunder 67 Panchkulas Brijesh Kumar was placed third at 68Local lad Ashbeer Saini of Kapurthala made a holeinone on the 10th during his round of 69 He was placed tied fourth along with Sudipta Das and Amrit LalThirtyfouryearold Wasim Khan landed his shots within five feet on three occasions for birdies He also made a great recovery from the trees to extract a birdie on the 16th His longest birdie conversion of the day was a 12footer on the 12thWasim said I struck the ball well landing it close for most of the day My tee shots and ironplay were great I finished 11th in the seasonopener last week in Gurugram so that also gave me confidence coming into this weekThe RCF Golf Course is in great condition and the approaches on the Par5s can be tricky here as the greens are guarded by water hazards Therefore one has to watch out for the Par5sThe tournament offers a prize purse of INR 20 lakh and marks PGTIs debut in Kapurthala The event will be played over three rounds 54 holes with the cut being applied after two rounds 36 holes The top36 players and ties will make the cut for the third and final round The tournament features a field of 90 players including 87 professionals and three amateurs The local names in the field include Kapurthalabased professional Ashbeer Saini and Kapurthalabased amateurs Avneet Singh and Sagar Uppal IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-nexgen-wasim-khan-leads-round-one-after-shooting-six-under-66-in-kapurthala-607084.html Tue, 18 Mar 2025 20:38:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/mcllroy-outlasts-spaun-in-three-hole-playoff-becomes-first-european-to-capture-two-players-titles-606871.html Ponte Vedra Beach Florida March 17 Rory McIlroy won the 51st edition of The Players Championship on Monday outlasting JJ Spaun in a threehole aggregate playoff In the process he became the first European to capture two Players titles having also conquered TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course in 2019 and he joined Jack Nicklaus Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler as the only players with multiple major and Players victoriesI am unbelievably proud and happy to win my second Players said the world number twoIts the third time Ive won on St Patricks Day Its been a goodluck charm for me said Mcllroy It was a wild week at TPC Sawgrass capped by McIlroys overtime performance that delivered an outright win McIlroy also captured the ATampT Pebble Beach ProAm in February and this marks the first time that he has won twice on Tour ahead of the Masters Hes always a headliner at Augusta National Golf Club where hell renew his quest for the only major that has eluded him while also looking to snap an 11year drought in the majorsI feel really bad for JJ He hit a great shot on the 17th but it just went straight through the wind he added Earlier on Sunday Rory McIlroy let a few putts slip away down the stretch while JJ Spauns tournamentwinning birdie putt on the final green came up inches short As a result the two combatants were forced to return to the Course on Monday for a threehole aggregate playoff having finished tied atop the final leaderboard at 12 under 276 two shots ahead of Lucas Glover Tom Hoge and Akshay Bhatia IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/mcllroy-outlasts-spaun-in-three-hole-playoff-becomes-first-european-to-capture-two-players-titles-606871.html Mon, 17 Mar 2025 21:36:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-to-make-debut-in-kapurthala-with-nexgen-series-from-march-18-606872.html Gurugram March 17 The second event of the Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI NEXGEN season will be PGTI NexGen Kapurthala which will be played from March 18 20 at the RCF Golf Club in Kapurthala The tournament offers a prize purse of INR 20 lakh and marks PGTIs debut in Kapurthala The event will be played over three rounds 54 holes with the cut being applied after two rounds 36 holes The top36 players and ties will make the cut for the third and final roundThe tournament features a field of 90 players including 87 professionals and three amateurs The local names in the field include Kapurthalabased professional Ashbeer Saini and Kapurthalabased amateurs Avneet Singh and Sagar UppalThe first event of the PGTI NexGen season held in Gurugram last week was won by Rajesh Kumar Gautam of Lucknow who now leads the Order of MeritThe winner of this years NexGen Order of Merit will earn an exemption on the main tour PGTI for the 2026 seasonMr Amandeep Johl CEO PGTI said The PGTI is delighted to make its debut at the RCF Golf Club in Kapurthala which has produced one of Indias greatest golfers Olympian Gaganjeet Bhullar who has won many laurels for the country on the international stage The staging of the PGTI NEXGEN event seeks to further promote professional golf in Kapurthala and inspire more youngsters in the city to take up the sportThe third event of the season Phillaur Open will be played from March 25 to 27 at the Ranjitgarh Golf Club in PhillaurThe top 60 players from the 2024 PGTI Order of Merit are not eligible to play on the NexGen Tour in 2025 The winner of this years NexGen Order of Merit will earn an exemption on the main tour PGTI for the 2026 season IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-to-make-debut-in-kapurthala-with-nexgen-series-from-march-18-606872.html Mon, 17 Mar 2025 21:37:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/avani-shoots-65-to-finish-tied-13th-in-australia-606661.html Coffs Harbour Australia March 16 Avani Prashanth shot a superb 5under 65 in the final round of the Australian Womens Classic and registered a solid Top15 finish in her maiden season on the Ladies European Tour With an earlier 7270 she totalled 3under 207 and finished six shots behind the winner Manon De Roey who birdied the final hole to pip Cara Gainer to the title Pranavi Urs who was the other Indian to make the cut shot 72 and ended at T65 Diksha Dagar had missed the cut Avani started on the tenth and birdied the 10th 12th 14th 17th and the 18th She added a sixth on the second and was 6under and looking at Top10 finish Thats when she dropped shots on the third and the fifth but picked a last one at the seventhAvani a Top10 finisher on her home event the Indian Open in the past while being an amateur was pleased with the final day show and said It was a good final day as I had been struggling with reading the greens the past two days Finally fixed it out today so it was it was very good Holed short one on the first the tenth of the course Then from there it was quite good like I made a lot of long putts I dont think I had too many approach close Of the seven birdies I hit two approaches actually like within eight feet and everything else was like 152025 feet putts Thats what you needed to shoot low here Because of the greens being hard you werent able to get close and because of the wind being up too So I so glad I got it together and am are looking forward to next weekFor the winner Manon it was the third Ladies European Tour LET win and jumped to second in the 2025 Order of Merit De Roey made a clutch birdie at the 18th hole and became a threetime LET winnerOn a nervy final day the Belgian kept her cool late on dialling in an excellent approach to sevenfeet at the par4 18th before sealing the putt for LET victory number threeThe victory is De Roeys third on the LET after she won the 2022 Aramco Team Series Bangkok title and 2024 Investec SA Womens OpenIn solo second finished Gainer on eightunder par after her hot finish The young star in the making Wongras finished the week in third on sevenunder par Swedens Kajsa Arwefjall fired a 66 4 to share fourth alongside Kemp on sixunder par The home favourite returned to action this week for the first time since breaking her leg seven months ago An incredible comeback storyNext up the LET continues its cosanctioned Aussie swing with the WPGA Tour heading south to Wollongong for the Ford NSW Womens Open IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/avani-shoots-65-to-finish-tied-13th-in-australia-606661.html Sun, 16 Mar 2025 18:39:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/vani-stays-on-course-for-a-hat-trick-of-wins-at-6th-leg-of-wpgt-606081.html Gurugram March 12 Vani Kapoor stayed on course for a hattrick of wins on the Womens Pro Golf Tour WPGT 2025 with a second straight card of even par 72 at the DLF Golf and Country Club here on Wednesday The experienced Vani 7272 winner of the fourth and fifth Legs is now evenpar 144 for 36 holes and two shots clear of Sneha Singh 7175 who closed the day with a double bogey on Par5 18th for a card of 3over 75 Tied with Sneha in second place is amateur Anvvi Dahhiya 7175 Sneha the current leader on the Order of Merit is also locked in a battle for the honours with Vani Both have two wins each in the five events held so farVani started with a birdie on the first but dropped a bogey on the sixth and had an early double bogey on the Par5 fourth to fall to 2over for the day She recovered well with four birdies on the seventh 13th 15th and 17th holes against two bogeys on the 10th and the 14th in the remaining 11 holes for a card of 72When Sneha playing in the lead group reached the final hole she was level with Vani who had finished a group earlier Sneha who had four birdies against five bogeys then finished with a double bogey on the 18th which saw her fall two shots behind VaniAmateur Anvvi Dahhiya had three birdies all of which came on the back nine Overall she had four bogeys and a double bogey and carded 75 to stay tied second with SnehaThe firstround leader Lavanya Jadon dropped from 70 in the first round to 77 in the second She was undone by a string of four bogeys between the 13th and 16th and dropped from first to sole fourth Gaurika Bishnoi 7476 and Amandeep Drall 7476 shot 76 each and at six over 150 they are tied for fifthRidhima Dilawari 75 and Gauri Karhade 79 were lying seventh and eighth as Anvitha Narender 78 and Jasmine Shekar 79 were tied tenth The cut fell to 163 and 25 players made the grade IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/vani-stays-on-course-for-a-hat-trick-of-wins-at-6th-leg-of-wpgt-606081.html Wed, 12 Mar 2025 20:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/rookie-lavanya-takes-one-shot-lead-in-sixth-leg-of-wpgt-605891.html Gurugram March 11 Rookie Lavanya Jadon birdied the closing hole to take the sole lead at 2under in the first round of the sixth leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Gary Playerdesigned DLF Golf amp Country Club here on Tuesday Lavanya had five birdies against three bogeys in a round of 70The Order of Merit leader Sneha Singh seemed to be set for a very low round as she was fourunder through 13 holes before hitting a disastrous patch as she bogeyed four holes in a row from the 14th to the 17thThat saw her drop to evenpar but a birdie on the closing 18th ensured a 1under card and a tie for second place with Anvvi Dahhiya who finished more than an hour before her The highlight of Snehas round was an eagle on the Pasr4 second where she holed her second shot It was the only eagle of the dayOverall Sneha had six birdies and an eagle against five bogeys and a double bogey Anvvi Dahhiya a promising amateur had five birdies against four bogeys to be one shot behind at 1under 71Vani Kapoor aiming for a hattrick of wins after winning the previous two legs shot an evenpar 72 with two birdies on the ninth and the 14th Ironically she dropped shots on Par5s the eighth and the 18th in her 72 for sole fourth placeLavanya who is looking for her maiden win in her first season birdied the second and sixth tenth 12th and the 18th and dropped shots on the Par4 fifth 11th and the 14thSneha eagled the second and birdied the fourth eighth ninth 12th and the 13th She dropped shots on the third and then had a double bogey on the Par3 fifth Four dropped shots on the trot from the 14th ruined her round and a closing birdie was a small consolationAmandeep Drall and Gaurika Bishnoi shot 2over 74 each to be Tiedfifth while Gauri Karhade Agrima Manral and amateur Keya K Badugu scored 2over 74 each and were Tiedseventh Jasmine Shekar 77 was tenthAmong the other leading names Ridhima Dilawari 78 was T14 Neha Tripathi had a rough day with 85 and was T29 while Shweta Mansingh 86 was T33 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/rookie-lavanya-takes-one-shot-lead-in-sixth-leg-of-wpgt-605891.html Tue, 11 Mar 2025 21:27:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/vani-kapoor-looks-to-complete-a-hat-trick-of-wins-at-6th-leg-of-wpgt-605722.html Gurugram March 10 Vani Kapoor will attempt to win a hattrick of titles as she tees up at her home course the DLF Golf and Country Club for the sixth leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour WPGT here on Tuesday The highly successful domestic star who won the fourth and fifth Legs of the Tour is also chasing the Order of Merit leader Sneha Singh who has also won twice this season The sixth leg which features 40 players has some of the leading stars led by Vani and besides her there is Sneha Singh Amandeep Drall Jasmine Shekar Ridhima Dilawari Gaurika Bishnoi and Neha TripathiThe event carries a purse of Rs 16 lakh The DLF Golf and Country Club has been the home of Indian womens golf and also hosts the annual Hero Womens Indian Open in the latter half of the yearThis year Vani has been using the domestic Tour to play herself back into form and the strategy has paid off as she has won twice She plans to get to the Ladies European Tour later on in the year Also looking at international starts are Sneha Amandeep and Ridhima among othersLast week Vani Kapoor played a perfect back nine with one birdie and eight pars to card 1under 71 and registered a comfortable threeshot win over Ridhima Dilawari 70 and Rhea Jha 73 in the fifth leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Classic Golf amp Country Club in GurugramIt was the experienced Vanis second straight win having won the fourth leg last month One of the most successful players in the history of the Womens Pro Golf Tour Vani held at least a share of the lead since Day 1 The DLF golfer was the sole leader after the first round and then shared the lead after 36 holes with Amandeep Drall and finally cruised to a fine victory at the end of the week Vani had rounds of 707571 for an evenpar 216 over 54 holes and she was three shots clear of Ridhima 767370 and Rhea 747273 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/vani-kapoor-looks-to-complete-a-hat-trick-of-wins-at-6th-leg-of-wpgt-605722.html Mon, 10 Mar 2025 21:37:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/ahmedabad-open-golf-thangaraja-secures-grand-5-shot-win-after-clinical-final-round-605213.html Ahmedabad March 7 Sri Lankan golfer N Thangaraja coasted to a grand fiveshot win after a clinical final round performance of oneover 73 at the INR 1 crore Ahmedabad Open 2025 at the Kensville Golf amp Country Club near Ahmedabad The 43yearold Thangaraja 65736973 the thirdround leader by five shots capitalized on his comfortable overnight advantage with a clinical 73 as he totaled eightunder 280 for the week Thanga who secured his fifth PGTI title and his first win since 2023 picked up the winning cheque worth INR 15 lakh that propelled him from seventh to second position in the PGTI Order of MeritMysurus Yashas Chandra 72707073 also struck a last round of 73 to end the week as runnerup at a total of threeunder 285 Italys Michele Ortolani 68747272 came in third at twounder 286 after he posted a fourthround score of 72Ahmedabads Varun Parikh 72 and Chandigarhs Harendra Gupta 75 finished tied fourth at oneunder 287Thangaraja who set the bar in round one before regaining his lead once again in round three had a relatively quiet fourth day as he knocked in one birdie and conceded two bogeys Thanga made his only birdie of the day on the Par5 sixth hole where he landed his chip within four feet of the pinThe Colombo resident played a steady round as he didnt seem in any kind of trouble for most part of the day Thanga dropped shots only towards the end on the 16th and 17th when he had already taken a daunting eightshot lead and his victory was a foregone conclusionThanga said I made a solid start and when the gap between myself and the rest continued to widen I realized that I didnt need to do anything fancy I then looked to play regulation golf trying to hit most fairways and greens After the front nine I was quite confident of victoryI think my mastery over the low shot really helped me in the windy conditions this week Even though it was not windy in round four the performances of the first three rounds which featured a lot of low shots helped me lay the foundation for this win Its good to have a win early in the season as it gives momentum for the rest of the year he addedYashas Chandra who secured his fourth runnerup finish on the PGTI capped the week with a round of 73 punctuated by four birdies three bogeys and a doublebogey IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/ahmedabad-open-golf-thangaraja-secures-grand-5-shot-win-after-clinical-final-round-605213.html Fri, 07 Mar 2025 18:40:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/mannat-brar-shoots-superb-67-lies-in-top-10-at-womens-asia-pacific-golf-605032.html Da Nang Vietnam March 6 Mannat Brar making her fourth appearance at the Womens Amateur AsiaPacific Golf WAAP Championships equalled the best round by an Indian with a fourunder 67 here on Thursday Mannat was the best of the six Indians in the fray and was lying tiedninth after the first day at the picturesque Par71 Hoiana Shores course which is hosting its first big event Mannat was four shots behind SeoJin Park 64 with four others at 6under 65 Mannat was tied ninth with An Le Chuc of Vietnam Eunseo Choi of New Zealand and JieEn Lin of Chinese Taipei Saanvi Somu at 1over 72 was the secondbest Indian at T42 and debutant Guntas Kaur Sandhu 73 at 2over was T48 Heena Kang and debutant Zara Anand with 76 each were T76 and another debutant Kashika Misra 78 was T83rdThe top 50 and ties will make the cut after the second round The favourite and World No 4 Rianne Malixi withdrew after five holes because of a back strainMannats fourunder 67 was the best score by an Indian at any WAAP and in relation to par it equalled Anika Varmas 68 4 in Round 2 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club UAE in 2021 Anika went on to finish T9 the best by an Indian In 2024 Avani Prashanth also shot 68 4 in the first round at Siam Country Club and finished T10 only the second Top10 by an IndianMannat 18 the reigning allIndia Amateur champion keen to make up for the past three missed cuts started on the tenth and made the best of the back nine which afforded more birdie chances She had five birdies against one bogey to turn in 4underOn the second nine the front side of the course Mannat went into a ravine on the very tough Par5 third hole She took two shots to come out and dropped a shot However she got the shot back on the Par4 sixth and closed with three birdies for a fourunder 67Mannat said It was great It was really nice in the first half It was nice and cool It wasnt as breezy as I was expecting it to be It was just that the mood was good the vibes were good and there were fans around So it was just a very positive first half of the round which just transferred into the second half Was just a good day overall though I had a couple of lip outs alsoSummarising her round she added I started off good It was a good stable opening hole and it went on to 11 12 13 14 some pretty short holes and I got some wedges in I struck those well Coming into 15 16 another I had a good strategy in place and the wedges did their job They were close to the hole and just made some puttsShe commented Yes definitely I would say the back nine is shorter and we can make some more birdies there The wind being a little lesser during the first half of the day was definitely a good time to be playing the back nineShe went on I think confidencewise Im a little better I played quite a bit last year I played abroad I played in Europe so I was well versed with the windy conditions and that helped a lot because Ive seen a lot This was pretty mild for me I think that was the biggest difference playing a lot and seeing such great players It was eyeopening and that helpedIm not really thinking of making it into the weekend or anything like that Just showing up tomorrow playing my own game having fun on this beautiful golf course and whatever happens happensBehind the leader SeoJin there were four other players Lau Ariana of Hong Kong Lion Higo of Australia Hong Sumin of Korea and Anna Iwanaga of Japan who all carded 6under 65 to be tied in second IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/mannat-brar-shoots-superb-67-lies-in-top-10-at-womens-asia-pacific-golf-605032.html Thu, 06 Mar 2025 20:37:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/vani-takes-one-shot-lead-on-a-tough-scoring-day-in-5th-leg-of-wpgt-604754.html Gurugram March 5 Vani Kapoor dropped two late bogeys but maintained focus to get a birdie on the final hole to take sole lead after the first day of the fifth leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour WPGT at the Classic Golf amp Country Club here on Wednesday Vani the winner of the fourth leg last month shot 2under 70 and took a oneshot lead over her good friend Amandeep Drall 71 Vani and Amandeep were the only players to shoot under par on an extremely windy day when scoring was tough Rhea Jha was placed sole third and she landed an eagle two on Par4 eighth but had five bogeys and one birdie in her 74 She won the fifth leg of the 2020 Womens Pro Golf TourOn a rather tough day for scoring five players were tied for fourth with rounds of 4over 76 and the group included amateur Ceerat Kang Anahita Singh Oviya Reddi Neha Tripathi and Ridhima Dilawari Leader Vani had four birdies against two bogeys in the round She opened with a par and then birdied the second and the third Then followed a series of eight pars and another birdie on Par4 12th She dropped backtoback shots on the 16th and the 17th but closed with a birdieAmandeep opened with a bogey but got the shot back on the fifth She dropped another shot on the Par4 13th but closed with a birdie on the 14th and the 18th for a round of 71 Amandeep who went out in the first group with Gaurika Bishnoi in the morning was the clubhouse leader till Vani overtook herTwotime winner this season Sneha Singh had a rough day with a card of 5over 77 that saw her pick just one birdie against six bogeys She was tied ninth with Yaalisai Verma and Gauri Karhade Among some other wellknown names Gaurika Bishnoi Jasmine Shekar and Shweta Mansingh carded 81 each and were tied for 22nd place IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/vani-takes-one-shot-lead-on-a-tough-scoring-day-in-5th-leg-of-wpgt-604754.html Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:39:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/ahmedabad-open-golf-sri-lankas-thangaraja-takes-round-one-lead-courtesy-of-his-65-604633.html Ahmedabad March 4 Sri Lankan golfer N Thangaraja took the round one lead courtesy of his brilliant sevenunder 65 at the INR 1 crore Ahmedabad Open 2025 which is being played at the Kensville Golf amp Country Club near here Italys Michele Ortolani was second at fourunder 68 The Delhi duo of Anshul Kabthiyal and Kapil Kumar and Chandigarhs Harendra Gupta were tied for third with scores of twounder 70 N Thangaraja who finished third at last weeks PGTI event in Raipur continued his good form on Tuesday Starting from the 10th tee Thangaraja collected an eagle and two birdies at the expense of a bogey on the back nineThe 43yearold fourtime winner on the PGTI then had an even better front nine where he scored four birdies Thanga sank two 30footers and landed a chip within inches on the front nine However the highlight of his round was the extraordinary punch shot from the trees on the seventh that stopped three feet from the flagIt was a very windy day but I handled it well I hit 13 greens in regulation and my putting was excellent The best moment of the day was the punch shot from the trees on the seventh where I did not have a full swing and was just looking to find the edge of the green However that incredible shot saw the ball stop merely three feet from the pin Thanga said at the end of the first roundIm carrying the confidence from last weeks performance Scoring a 65 in such tough conditions adds to my selfbelief going forward in the tournament he saidMichele Ortolanis short game held his round together as he made several ups and downs Ortolani fresh from a runnerup finish on the Asian Development Tour ADT recently made five birdies and a bogey on Tuesday His round featured a great bunker shot on the 14th that landed inches from the hole and led to a birdieVarun Parikhs 73 made him the highestplaced among the Ahmedabadbased players as he occupied tied 14th place IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/ahmedabad-open-golf-sri-lankas-thangaraja-takes-round-one-lead-courtesy-of-his-65-604633.html Tue, 04 Mar 2025 21:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/ahmedabad-open-golf-top-names-in-field-as-pgti-event-tees-off-604483.html Ahmedabad March 3 Top names in the field like Shaurya Bhattacharya winner of the Chhattisgarh Open Om Prakash Chouhan Manu Gandas Olympian Udayan Mane Rashid Khan Karandeep Kochhar and Sachin Baisoya will be the top attractions in the second edition of the Ahmedabad Open golf championships starting here on Tuesday The tournament approved by the Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI will be staged at the Kensville Golf amp Country Club with the final round scheduled to be played on March 7 The event carries a prize purse of INR 1 crore The ProAm will follow the main event on March 8The tournament is set to feature some of the top Indian professionals such as Chikkarangappa S besides Gujaratbased professionals Varun Parikh Dhruv Suri Arshpreet Thind and Aditya Raj Kumar Chauhan The Gujaratbased amateur in the field is Islam KhanThe field also includes foreign players like Bangladeshis Jamal Hossain Badal Hossain Md Akbar Hossain and Md Somrat Sikdar Sri Lankans N Thangaraja and K Prabagaran Americans Koichiro Sato and Dominic Piccirillo Nepals Sukra Bahadur Rai and Subash Tamang Italians Michele Ortolani and Federico Zucchetti Czech Republics Stepan Danek and Ugandas Joshua SealeAmandeep Johl CEO PGTI said The professionals eagerly await their return to the topclass Kensville Golf amp Country Club after a gap of six years The 2025 season has got off to a cracking start with some breathtaking performances in the first three events We now expect the competition to become even more intense with every passing weekThe Kensville Golf amp Country Club is every golf aficionados dream come true It is a place that gives you the best of not both but all worlds Situated in an idyllic location off Dev Dholera 40 km from Ahmedabad Gujarat it is surrounded by places of historical cultural and environmental significanceKensville is home to one of Indias leading championship venues which has hosted a prestigious international tournament the European Challenge Tours Gujarat Kensville Challenge for three years running from 2011 to 2013 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/ahmedabad-open-golf-top-names-in-field-as-pgti-event-tees-off-604483.html Mon, 03 Mar 2025 20:04:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/chhattisgarh-open-golf-shaurya-bhattacharya-moves-five-shots-clear-at-the-top-with-fiery-61-603796.html Naya Raipur Chhattisgarh Feb 27 Delhis Shaurya Bhattacharya carded a fiery eightunder 61 on Day Three that moved him five shots clear at the top with a total of 21under 186 at the INR 1 crore Chhattisgarh Open 2025 at the Fairway Golf amp Lake Resort here on Thursday Bhattacharya 646161 a winner on the PGTI in his rookie season last year moved up one spot from his overnight tied second position as a result of his second consecutive 61Sri Lankan N Thangaraja 666362 shot a 62 on Thursday that propelled him 13 spots to tied second place at 16under 291 Khalin Joshi 646067 the halfway leader returned a third round of 67 to stay in contention as he shared second place with Thangaraja The 16yearold rookie Manoj S 65 of Bengaluru playing only his third professional event was tied fourth at 15under 192 along with Faridabadbased Abhinav Lohan 64 and Bengalurus M Dharma 66Bhattacharya the 2024 PGTI Emerging Player of the Year had a quiet front nine where he sank three birdies in exchange for a bogey However Bhattacharya hit his stride on the back nine where he collected six birdies The 22yearold drove the green on the Par4 12th landed it within a foot of the flag on two occasions and chipped in on the 17thBhattacharya now the overwhelming favourite to win the title said I hit my approaches really well today and thats exactly what you need on this course I didnt have a great start to the season so Im looking forward to finishing well here in Raipur Im carrying the confidence from my victory last year I will look to continue what I did in the first three rounds I just want to keep the momentum going and execute my game planThangaraja mixed nine birdies with two bogeys on a day he landed most of his shots within seven feet of the pin Thangaraja who won his last title in 2023 will be among the contenders on Friday Khalin Joshi a winner of six titles including one on the international stage kept himself in the fray with a 67 that featured five birdies and three bogeysAmong the prominent names Udayan Mane 64 was tied seventh at 14under 193 while Om Prakash Chouhan 65 was tied 24th at 10under 197 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/chhattisgarh-open-golf-shaurya-bhattacharya-moves-five-shots-clear-at-the-top-with-fiery-61-603796.html Thu, 27 Feb 2025 20:43:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2025-another-amateur-saanvi-takes-lead-on-day-2-603583.html Mumbai Feb 26 Vietnambound amateur Saanvi Somu played a steady bogeyfree second round of twounder 68 to move into the lead in the fourth leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour WPGT at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club here on Wednesday The 16yearold Saanvi has finished runnerup multiple times on the WPGT the latest of which was the first leg this season After Mannat Brar was on the top a day earlier Saanvi is the second amateur to take the spotlight this week Saanvi who will be in the Indian team at next weeks Womens Amateur AsiaPacific Championship shot 73 in the first round In the second she parred the first 11 holes before she found her first birdie on the Par4 12th hole That was followed by five steady pars and a birdie on the Par5 18th for a 68 At 1over 141 she is one ahead of the experienced Vani Kapoor who added an even par 70 to her first round of 72Vani who will soon be playing on the international circuit had three birdies and three bogeys in her first 11 holes and parred the last seven Another amateur Anuradha Chaudhuri shot even par 70 to get into a threeway tie with Vani and Seher Atwal 7270Lavanya Jadon who began the day with a bogey did well to pick four birdies between the fifth and the 14th as she shot even par 70 and was placed Tiedfifth alongside Jasmine Shekar a twotime winner in 2024 Jasmine had rounds of 7271 to be 3over 143On a tight leaderboard that has a dozen players within four shots of each other Gaurika Bishnoi 7569 was the sole seventh Gaurika began the day with an eagle the only one of the day and then had nine pars She dropped backtoback bogeys on the 11th and the 12th but picked a birdie on the closing hole the 18th for a 69 which was the days secondbest after Saanvis 68Firstround leader amateur Mannat Brar 6877 who accompanies Saanvi to the Womens Amateur AsiaPacific Championship in Vietnam next week was tied eighth alongside Hitaashee Bakshi 7273 winner of the 2024 Order of Merit Shweta Mansingh 7075 Disha Kavery 7471 and Kriti Chowhan 7075 They were all 5over 145 eachMannat who had a superb first round faltered on the second day and after a first days 68 she went nine shots over that with three bogeys and two double bogeys in a round of 7over 77 Ridhima Dilawari 7472 was T13 with Ananya Datar and Durga Nittur Sneha Singh winner of the last two events had another offday as she followed her first round 73 with a 74 and was T16 At 7over 147 she is six behind but a low final round can give her an outside chance of a hattrick of wins after having won the last two legs IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2025-another-amateur-saanvi-takes-lead-on-day-2-603583.html Wed, 26 Feb 2025 18:15:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/amateur-mannat-grabs-two-shot-lead-in-fourth-leg-of-wpgt-2025-603435.html Mumbai Feb 25 Amateur Mannat Brar shot 2under 68 to grab a twoshot lead over the field after the first round of the fourth leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club Mannat who will represent India at the Womens Amateur AsiaPacific Championships in Vietnam next week looked set for a very low round as she was fourunder through 12 holes but three bogeys in a span of four holes from the 14th to the 17th saw her fall back She finished with a birdie on the 18th for a 68Three players Kriti Chowhan Seher Atwal and Shweta Mansingh were tied for the second place with rounds of even par 70 eachThe highlight of Shwetas round was a hattrick of birdies from the 15th to the 17th as she landed four birdies and four bogeys Seher a past winner on the Tour had two birdies and two bogeys while Kriti Chowhan also had two birdies and bogeys The 17yearold Mannat who last year became the first Indian to reach the semifinals of the RampA Girls Amateur is also the winner of the All India Amateur and Junior Girls ChampionshipShe birdied first fourth and sixth and turned in 3under and added a fourth birdie on the 12th She bogeyed the 14th 15th and 17th before closing with another birdie on the 18thThe crowded leader board had five players scoring 2over 72 each with the group including the 2024 Hero Order of Merit winner Hitaashee Bakshi last weeks runnerup Vani Kapoor the experienced Neha Tripathi Jasmine Shekar and amateur Anuradha ChaudhuriSix others led by Sneha Singh winner of the last event on the WPGT and three other amateurs Saanvi Somu Keerthana Rajeev and Aradhana Manikandan besides Ananya Datar and Lavanya Jadon were tied for tenth place after carding 3over 73 eachSome of the other big names did not have a great day as Ridhima Dilawari 74 was T16 Gaurika Bishnoi and Khushi Khanijau 75 each were T21 Amandeep Drall 76 was T23 and Rhea Purvi 77 was T25 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/amateur-mannat-grabs-two-shot-lead-in-fourth-leg-of-wpgt-2025-603435.html Tue, 25 Feb 2025 22:23:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/gujarat-open-golf-yuvraj-sandhu-holds-on-to-the-lead-in-round-three-602464.html Ahmedabad Feb 20 Chandigarhs Yuvraj Sandhu has set himself up nicely for backtoback wins on the PGTI Tour as he held a oneshot lead at 10under 134 after round three of the INR 1 crore Gujarat Open 2025 being played at the Glade One Golf Resort amp Club here on Thursday Sandhu 323468 winner of the seasonopener in Kolkata last week returned a steady fourunder 68 on Thursday despite a cold putter The 27yearold Sandhu thus held on to his overnight lead even though his cushion at the top was reduced from two to just one shotDelhi golfers Kshitij Naveed Kaul and Arjun Prasad shot the days lowest scores of sevenunder 65 to close in on the leader as the duo shared second place at nineunder 135 Kshitij and Arjun zoomed up eight spots from their overnight tied 10th positionDefending champion Abhinav Lohan carded a 68 to gain four spots and end the day in tied sixth place at sixunder 138 Ahmedabads Varun Parikh 75 was placed tied 39th at oneover 145The first two rounds of the event were played on nine holes each The third and fourth rounds comprise 18 holes each The tournament will be played over a total of 54 holes The par for the course in the third and fourth rounds is 72 The 9hole course was played twice in round three with different pin positionsSandhus round was highlighted by his solid ball striking as he missed just one green He made five birdies till the 11th before dropping his only bogey of the day on the 13th Sandhu scored birdies on three out of the four par5s and produced an excellent tee shot for a tapin birdie on the par3 fourth holeAt the end of the days play Sandhu said I enjoyed a hot start today but the cold putter led to a quiet backnine Leading despite not being at my best with the putter for two consecutive days is quite satisfying Im looking forward to the prospect of playing alongside my good friend and roommate Arjun Prasad Ive never played in a leader group with him so it would be funKshitij Naveed Kaul made a chipin for eagle on the 14th along with some good up and downs for birdies during his round of 65 to move into contention Arjun Prasad on the other hand produced some terrific recoveries from the bunker to also move within one shot of the leader courtesy of his 65 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/gujarat-open-golf-yuvraj-sandhu-holds-on-to-the-lead-in-round-three-602464.html Thu, 20 Feb 2025 21:50:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-3rd-leg-vani-sizzles-with-66-to-take-a-5-shot-lead-602474.html Pune Feb 20 Vani Kapoor played one of her best rounds in a long time as she carded a bogeyfree 5under 66 to open a fiveshot lead in the third leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour WPGT at the Poona Club Golf Course here on Thursday With three birdies on the front nine and two more on the backstretch Vani added 66 to her firstround 70 to get to sixunder 136 for 36 holes Vani the player with the most titles among all the active players on the Tour is five ahead of Sneha Singh winner of the second leg Sneha who opened bogeybogey shot even par 71 and is 1under 141 Amandeep Drall 70 and Hitaashee Bakshi 71 playing her first Tour event of 2025 are tied for third at even par 142Vani birdied the second sixth and ninth to turn in 3under and added further gains on the tenth and the 14th for a great card of 5under 66 Vanis last win came at the 12th Leg at her home course the DLF Golf amp Country Club Gurugram in September last yearSneha opened bogeybogey but picked birdies on the ninth and 14th to finish even par Amandeep had an actionpacked day with five birdies against four bogeys Hitaashee Bakshi had birdies on the second and the fifth and dropped bogeys on the sixth and the 16th for an evenpar 71Kriti Chowhan was 1over 72 for the second day running and is the sole fifth while three players Vidhatri Urs 73 Neha Tripathi 74 and the firstround leader Shweta Mansingh 76 are tied for sixthLavanya Jadon 71 winner of the opening leg Rhea Purvi Sarvanan 73 and Seher Atwal 74 are tied for 10th The top amateur was Mannat Brar 7674 at T14 while Saanvi Somu 7378 was 16thThe cut fell at 13over 155 and 24 players made the grade for the final round IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-3rd-leg-vani-sizzles-with-66-to-take-a-5-shot-lead-602474.html Thu, 20 Feb 2025 22:40:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/shweta-mansingh-takes-one-shot-lead-in-third-leg-of-wpgt-602222.html Pune Feb 19 Shweta Mansingh who has more than once come close to winning her maiden title on the Womens Pro Golf Tour put herself in pole position after the first round of the third leg of the WPGT 2025 at the Poona Club Golf Course Shweta shot 2under 69 and took a oneshot lead over Sneha Singh and Vani Kapoor who carded 1under 70 eachExperienced Neha Tripathi 71 was tied third with Hitaashee Bakshi winner of the Hero OOM last year but making her first start this season who opened with a bogey but closed with a birdie for a round of 71Four players Amandeep Drall Kriti Chowhan Shagun Narain and Vidhatri Urs were tied for sixth place with scores of 1over 72 each Seher Atwal 73 was tied for tenth with the top amateur of the day Saanvi SomuShweta who was tied for second with Sneha in Leg 16 of the 2023 season at TNGF was also tied for second earlier at Leg 15 of the 2021 season at RCGC Shweta who is based out of Gurugram dropped an early bogey on the second but she made up with three birdies in four holes between the fourth and the seventh She turned in 2under and added another birdie on the 10th to go threeunder A late bogey on the Par5 18th hole pulled her back as she finished at 2under 69Sneha winner of the second Leg this season had one bogey on Par5 but made up with birdies on the 10th and the 13th to ensure she was under par for the dayVani Kapoor who was runnerup behind Sneha in the second leg saw all the action on the front nine with one bogey on the third and birdies on the fourth and the ninth She parred the entire back nineNeha Tripathis four birdies were undone by two bogeys and a double bogey while Hitaashee Bakshi had two each of birdies and bogeys IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/shweta-mansingh-takes-one-shot-lead-in-third-leg-of-wpgt-602222.html Wed, 19 Feb 2025 19:13:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-aditi-pranavi-among-four-indians-in-saudi-ladies-international-600906.html Riyadh Feb 12 Pranavi Urs and Aditi Ashok will join Diksha Dagar and Tvesa Malik at the 5 million USD sixth Saudi Ladies International The four will be part of 112player field in an event that has a combination of individual and team events There will be a 54hole individual stroke play alongside a 36hole team competition The field is made up of eight tournament invitations 62 LET players and 42 players from the top 300 in the Rolex Womens World Golf RankingsThis week there is a huge prize fund on offer The team competition has a prize fund of 500000 USD and the individual competition has a total prize pool of 45 million USDLast season Pranavi was the top Indian at 17th on the LET Merit List with Diksha 29th and Tvesa 60th Aditi played just four events on LET season and focused on LPGA where she retained her cardAfter a successful pro start on her home tour the Womens Pro Tour Pranavi came close to winning twice finishing third each time in the Dormy Open and Open de EspanaDiksha was off to a roaring start to 2025 last week as she got into a playoff but missed out on a third LET win as she lost the playoff off to Cara Gainer at the seasonopener 2025 Lalla Meryem Cup Last season Diskha who represented India at the Olympics for a second time in Paris had four Top10sAlso in 2024 Tvesa regained her LET card and also came close to her first win before losing a playoff to Alice Hewson at the VP Swiss Bank Ladies Open IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-aditi-pranavi-among-four-indians-in-saudi-ladies-international-600906.html Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:44:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/tiger-woods-withdraws-from-genesis-invitational-following-mothers-demise-600726.html New Delhi Feb 11 Tiger Woods will not be playing in this weeks The Genesis Invitational where he is the tournament host as the American said he is still processing the death of his mother I planned to tee it up this week but Im just not ready said Woods whose mother Kultida passed away last week at the age of 80 in a statement I did my best to prepare knowing its what my Mom would have wanted but Im still processing her lossThanks to everyone who has reached out I hope to be at Torrey later in the week and appreciate the continued kindness since my Moms passing Woods said in a statement he shared on social mediaJake Knapp replaces the 82time PGA TOUR winner in the field Knapps earliest golf memory is watching Woods beat Stephen Ames 9 and 8 at the 2006 WGCAccenture Match Play Championship and having Woods caddie Steve Williams toss him one of the balls from the matchWoods last competitive start on the PGA Tour was at The 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club where he missed the cut Woods has played twice this year for Jupiter Links Golf Club in the new techinfused TGL golf league which he founded along with Rory McIlroy and Mike McCarleyThe 49yearold did play alongside teenage son Charlie in a 36hole event in DecemberThe Genesis Invitational starts on Thursday and benefits Woods TGR Foundation It was due to take place at the Riviera Country Club but was relocated to Torrey Pines in San Diego because of the Los Angeles wildfiresThe field boasts plenty of the games best at the tournament hosted by Tiger Woods with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler and most recent Signature Event winner Rory McIlroy highlighting the field IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/tiger-woods-withdraws-from-genesis-invitational-following-mothers-demise-600726.html Tue, 11 Feb 2025 15:12:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-slips-to-tied-14th-while-rookie-avani-makes-cut-on-pro-debut-600508.html Rabat Morocco Feb 8 Diksha Dagar slipped to T14th at the end of the second round of the Lalla Meryem Cup after rounds of 7173 She is 3under for two rounds at the Par73 course at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam Meanwhile Avani Prashanth making her pro debut made the cutt Avani Prashanth who added 74 to her first round 71 and is now 1under 145 She is Tied24th while the third Indian in the field Tvesa Malik missed the cut with cards of 7976With Top60 and ties making the cut 56 players made the cut which fell at 3over It is a threeday event over 54 holesThe leader is Singapores Shannon Tan completed a strong second round firing 4under 69 A year ago Tan won the Magical Kenya Ladies Open the seasonopener in 2024 and now she is in the lead at 2025 seasons first eventDiksha who was in Top10 after Day 1 birdies twice on the front nine and rose up the leaderboard However she dropped shots on the 10th and the 18th with no birdies in between to finish even par for the dayAvani had two birdies and one bogey on the front nine had two bogeys and no birdies on the back nine for a card of 1over 74 Avani has won pro events on the LET Access and her Hero Womens Pro Golf Tour in India while being an amateurSingapores Tan who started the day on the 10th tee had a shaky start with bogeys on holes 10 13 and 16 but pulled it back on the front nine The 20yearold had a swing of birdies on holes one two and three before also putting backtoback birdies on five and sixThree players sit in a share of second place on fiveunderpar after 36 holes Spains Nuria Iturrioz Germanys Helen Briem and Irelands Sara Byrne all fired rounds of 69 4 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-slips-to-tied-14th-while-rookie-avani-makes-cut-on-pro-debut-600508.html Sat, 08 Feb 2025 15:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-tvesa-joined-by-rookie-avani-prashanth-in-lalla-meryem-cup-in-morocco-599911.html Rabat Morocco Feb 5 The experienced Diksha Dagar and Tvesa Malik will be joined by rookie Avani Prashanth in the seasons first LET event the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam While Diksha and Tvesa have been around for some time Avani is making her debut in a pro event after coming through the LET QSchoolPranavi Urs the topranked Indian at 17th in last years LET Order of Merit will start her season next week at the Aramco Series in Riyadh Pranavi will join Diksha Tvesa and Aditi AshokDiksha has good memories of the 2024 Lalla Meryem Cup where she finished in the top 10 and she will be looking to better that Interestingly Pranavi who was tied for fifth last year is skipping the event this seasonAvani Prashanth who won a few professional titles in India on the Womens Pro Golf Tour while being an amateur also won on the LET Access Series She is now set for the Ladies European Tour and plans an extensive scheduleAvani will be the first of the Indians to tee off and she goes from the tenth with Blanca Fernandez of Spain and Thailands Aunchisa Utama at 850 am Tvesa Malik is paired with Sanna Nuutinen of Finland and Norwegian Dorthea Forbrigd from the tenth tee at 1 pm and Diksha plays with Slovenian Pia Babnik and local star Ines Laklalech from the tenth tee at 140 pmDefending champion Bronte Law 29 is back hoping to get her 2025 season off to a flying start at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-tvesa-joined-by-rookie-avani-prashanth-in-lalla-meryem-cup-in-morocco-599911.html Wed, 05 Feb 2025 17:56:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/ankur-chadha-fires-sensational-63-to-enjoy-halfway-lead-at-final-qualifying-stage-599963.html Jamshedpur Feb 5 Ankur Chadha fired a sensational eightunder 63 to enjoy the halfway lead at a total of 12under 130 at the Final Qualifying Stage of the TATA Steel PGTI Qualifying School 2025 being played at the Golmuri Golf Course in Jamshedpur Amateur Anant Singh Ahlawat of Panchkula carded a 64 to be placed second at 11under 131The halfway cut went at threeover 145 Out of a field of 126 the top 88 players including 14 amateurs and 13 foreign players made the cutGurugrambased Ankur Chadha 6763 who was tied second and one shot off the lead after round one came up with an outstanding bogeyfree round of 63 on Wednesday to emerge leader by one shot Ankur who has been a runnerup on the PGTI registered six birdies on the frontnine and added two more on the backnineThe 30yearold Chadha made two chipins drove the par4 12th green and capitalized on the par5s during his second roundAnkur said I putted much better today as compared to round one as I fared better in reading the speed of the greens I was a bit more conservative with my putts from outside 15 feet A bogeyfree round gives me a lot of confidence going ahead Im quite familiar with Golmuri since Ive played here many times before so that is an added advantage for me Ill just look to keep doing the same in the next two roundsAnant Singh Ahlawat produced eight birdies and a lone bogey on Wednesday to rise from tied second to sole second placePunes Divyansh Dubey the firstround leader shot a 66 to end the second round in third place at 10under 132At the end of round four the top 32 players ties will earn their full cards for the 2025 PGTI season IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/ankur-chadha-fires-sensational-63-to-enjoy-halfway-lead-at-final-qualifying-stage-599963.html Wed, 05 Feb 2025 22:53:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-qualifying-school-2025-amateur-shat-mishra-wins-pre-qualifying-ii-28-players-reach-final-stage-598349.html Jamshedpur Jan 29 The 19yearold amateur Shat Mishra returned a threeunder 68 in the second round that helped him finish on top in the PreQualifying II of the PGTI Qualifying School 2025 being played at the Golmuri Golf Course here on Wednesday Mishra 6668 who hails from the DLF Golf amp Country Club Gurugram ended up with a total of eightunder 134 to finish three shots clear of the rest of the field From a total field of 109 in PreQualifying II the top 28 players qualified for the Final Qualifying Stage as the cut was declared at one over 143Shat Mishra the overnight leader by one shot put together five birdies and two bogeys during his round of 68 to continue his domination at Pre Q II Shat a ninetime winner at the junior level made two great recoveries after finding the trees on the eighth and 18th to pick up birdies there He also made his longest conversion of the week a 20footer on the fifth to earn another birdie Three of his birdies came on the par5 holesMishra said I was quite relaxed after my low score of 66 in round one I just kept it simple today by trying to keep the ball in play Whenever I was in trouble I recovered with some great shots I played the par5s really well over the two days as I was sixunder on the par5s this week Winning the PreQualifying event by a decent margin does wonders for my confidence going into the Final Qualifying StageMd Solayeman of Bangladesh and Shubham Narain of Delhi finished tied second with totals of fiveunder 137Earlier on Tuesday the Delhibased teenager Shat Mishra carded a fiveunder 66 to take the firstround leadMishra who hails from the DLF Golf amp Country Club Gurugram but is a resident of Delhi struck the ball well through the day to score birdies on three out of the four par5s Mishra a former India No 1 in the junior category also landed it within five feet to set up birdies on the 17th and seventh both par3s IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-qualifying-school-2025-amateur-shat-mishra-wins-pre-qualifying-ii-28-players-reach-final-stage-598349.html Wed, 29 Jan 2025 20:44:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/veer-ahlawat-lies-t-36-in-ras-al-khaimah-on-dp-world-tour-597568.html Ras Al Khaimah Jan 26 Veer Ahlawat slipped down the leaderboard on a rather eventful day when he had five birdies four bogeys and a double bogey for a 1over 73 in the third round of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship He was 5over for 54 holes and lying T36th Indias other challenger in the event Shubhankar Sharma had earlier missed the cutAhlawat playing his second event after securing playing rights on the DP World Tour by topping the Indian PGTI Tour Order of Merit was lying T15 after two rounds of 7069 He opened his third with a birdie but dropped shots on the next two holes which were followed by a parA birdie on the fifth was followed by a bogey and then another birdie on the eighth as he turned in even par with three birdies three bogeys and three pars On the tenth he shot a double and then came five pars Birdies on the 16th and the 18th had a bogey in between for a 73Spains Alejandro del Rey showed some sharp short game as he moved into a twostroke lead over Marcus Armitage Del Rey started the day two shots behind Armitage but flipped the advantage with a sizzling round of 66 to move two clear on 16 under par setting up an intriguing finalday battle as the duo pulled clear of the chasing packArmitage 70 was second at 14under to Del Reys 16underEverything points towards a twohorse race for the Ras Al Khaimah Championship Australias Jason Scrivener 65 was at nine under with South Africas Shaun Norris and Frenchman David Ravetto in a tie for third IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/veer-ahlawat-lies-t-36-in-ras-al-khaimah-on-dp-world-tour-597568.html Sun, 26 Jan 2025 16:06:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/veer-ahlawat-makes-cut-at-ras-al-khaimah-on-dp-world-tour-597426.html Ras Al Khaimah UAE Jan 25 Indias Veer Ahlawat made his first cut on the DP World Tour after taking up membership of the Tour The 28yearold who played one hole after waiting overnight as darkness had enveloped the Al Hamra Golf on the first day birdied the 18th and shot 3under 69 in the second to move into the weekend rounds at a creditable 5under and was Tied15th Indias other DPWT member Shubhankar Sharma also shot 69 on the second day but his firstround 75 cost him heavily and he missed the second straight cut this seasonAhlawat who topped the PGTI Order of Merit in 2024 to earn a card onto the DPWT as per the alliance between the Tours had finished tied second at the Hero Indian Open at his home course the DLF Golf and Country Club a year ago but he was not a member of the DPWT He chose to focus on the PGTI and earned a passage into the bigger TourAhlawat dropped a shot early in the second round but picked four birdies after that for a 69 He birdied the third seventh eighth and the 15th Last week Ahlawat and Sharma missed the cut in the Hero Dubai Desert ClassicMarcus Armitage birdied his final two holes to remain in control of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship at the halfway stage The Englishman who opened with a blistering nine under par first round followed that with a three under par effort to reach 12 under on day two He goes into the final two rounds with a twostroke advantage over countryman Dan Brown and Spains Alejandro del Rey at Al Hamra Golf Club Armitage birdied the third and fourth to overtake Brown and del Rey who had set the target at ten under but sandwiched another birdie with bogeys at the seventh and ninthThe 37yearold dropped another shot at the parfour 12th but steadied himself with a pair of pars before launching an assault on the final few holes The 2021 Porsche European Open champion converted from 23 feet on the par three 15th to return to double figures before birdieing the final two holes for the second day in a row and in styleAfter missing the green at the 17th he chipped in for birdie from the greenside rough before almost holing his third shot from 99 yards at the parfive 18th leaving the simplest of tapins to secure a round of 69 Browns eightunder round of 64 was the best of the day and matched only by American Johannes Veerman who climbed 42 places to fourthFive players share fifth on seven under including Chinas Li Haotong and Dane Hamish Brown who both posted sevenunder rounds of 65 Englishman Daniel Gavins the 2023 winner of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship made more great memories at Al Hamra Golf Club carding the second hole in one of his career at the parthree seventh hole IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/veer-ahlawat-makes-cut-at-ras-al-khaimah-on-dp-world-tour-597426.html Sat, 25 Jan 2025 18:03:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-qualifying-school-2025-tees-off-from-january-22-in-jamshedpur-596711.html Jamshedpur Jan 21 The Professional Golf Tour India PGTI Qualifying School 2025 will be played from January 22 to February 7 2025 at the Golmuri Golf Course here on Tuesday While the First Stage consisting of three PreQualifying events of 36 holes each will be held from January 22 to February 1 the Final Stage a 72hole event will be held from February 4 to 7 The Qualifying School which marks the beginning of each PGTI season is one of the most important events on the PGTI calendar as it is the only route for players to qualify to play on the PGTI in a particular season The tournament determines the criteria for players for the whole season This years Qualifying School event will witness participation by a total of 408 golfers the PGTI informed in a release on TuesdayBesides Indian golfers this years Qualifying School will also feature as many as 32 golfers from 15 foreign nations This list includes 10 players from Bangladesh eight from the USA two from Indonesia and one each from South Korea Australia Uganda New Zealand Italy South Africa the United Kingdom Japan Austria Canada Germany and Nepal Indonesia is being represented at the PGTI Q School for the first timeThe First Stage of the Qualifying School will comprise three 36hole events PreQualifying I PreQualifying II and PreQualifying III While PreQualifying I will be staged on January 22 to 23 PreQualifying II will be held on January 28 to 29 and PreQualifying III takes place on January 31 to February 1 Out of a total field of 105 at PreQualifying I the top 20 players and ties will make it to the Final Stage From the field of 123 at PreQualifying II the top 25 players and ties will go through to the Final Stage Among the 132 players competing at PreQualifying III the top 27 players and ties will qualify for the Final StageThe qualifiers from the First Stage will join the 48 exempt players in the Final Stage which is scheduled to be held from February 4 to 7 The 72hole Final Stage will feature a field of the top 120 players and tiesThe top 80 players and ties will make the halfway cut after two rounds of the Final Stage At the end of the Final Stage the top 32 and ties will earn their full cards for the 2025 PGTI season The Final Stage offers a total prize purse of INR 5 lakh IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-qualifying-school-2025-tees-off-from-january-22-in-jamshedpur-596711.html Tue, 21 Jan 2025 20:27:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2025-sneha-goes-on-a-birdie-spree-to-win-2nd-leg-by-big-margin-596043.html Kolkata Jan 17 Sneha Singh overcame a horrific start to produce a brilliant run through the middle of the final round of the second leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour WPGT at the Tollygunge Club Overall she had seven birdies and four bogeys in her final round The 20yearold from Hyderabad shot 3under 67 the best round of the week to total 4under 206 and won by eight shots over the more experienced Vani Kapoor 74 who had four bogeys and no birdies on the final day Sneha who after winning multiple times as an amateur has won twice in each of the last years as a professional started the final day with a oneshot lead but both she and Vani bogeyed the first third and fourth However Sneha recovered after that with birdies on the fifth seventh and eighth to turn in evenpar In contrast Vani had only pars and from being one behind at the start of the final round she was four behind Sneha with nine holes to goOn the back nine Sneha birdied three times in a row from the 11th before dropping a shot on the 14th She quickly made up with a final birdie on the par4 16th for a 67 Vani dropped a shot on the 11th and parred the rest Frustrated with her putts not falling she had no birdies through the round Her 74 gave her the secondbest aggregate at 4over 214Jasmine Shekar a twotime winner last season shot 1over 71 that included three birdies on the trot from the 11th to the 13th Overall Jasmine had four birdies against five bogeys She finished third at 8over 218Anvitha Narender who played in the final group with Sneha and Vani carded a 2over 72 that included two birdies two bogeys and a double bogey on Par3 eighth to finish in a tie for third with Jasmine Kriti Chowhan 73 and Vidhatri Urs 71 were fifth and sixth at 221 and 225Amandeep Drall who had two disappointing days with 7979 made up with a superb 2under 68 one of the only two underpar scores of the day That gave Amandeep who is planning to play a lot of events on the Ladies European Tour a big boost She totalled 226 and was tied for seventhThe winner of the first leg this season Rhea Purvi Sarvanan 74 was eighth while Durga Nittur 77 and Ravjot K Dosanjh 83 were tied ninth to complete the Top10 Among other wellknown names Shweta Mansingh 75 and Khushi Khanijau 81 were Tied11th and Neha Tripathi 80 was T15th Sneha Singh the winner of the Hero Order of Merit in 2023 moved to the top once again after two events with Rhea Purvi at second and Jasmine lying third IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2025-sneha-goes-on-a-birdie-spree-to-win-2nd-leg-by-big-margin-596043.html Fri, 17 Jan 2025 22:27:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2025-sneha-takes-lead-with-second-days-best-card-in-leg-2--595782.html Kolkata Jan 16 Sneha Singh powered her way to the days best score of 2under 68 to take a oneshot lead in the second round of the Womens Pro Golf Tour WPGT 2025 at the Tollygunge Club here on Thursday Sneha 7168 who won the Order of Merit in 2023 is now the only player under par at 1under 139 and oneshot clear of Vani Kapoor 6872 the firstround leader Anvitha Narender who broke through for her maiden pro title last season moved into sole third with cards of 7472 Jasmine Shekar 7473 and Ravjot K Dosanjh 7275 were tied for fourth at 3over 147Sneha who previously won on the Hero WPGT in February last year in the fourth leg had an early bogey on the second hole She quickly made up with a birdie on the third and the eighth A birdie on the 11th and the 15th made it 3under for her but a dropped shot on the final hole saw her finish at 68Vani had a rollercoaster of a round She had three birdies three bogeys and three pars on the front nine and then three bogeys on the back nine on the 10th 12th and 14th A birdie on the 17th saw her finish at 2over Anvitha had three bogeys in the first five holes but did well to come back with three birdies However she also gave away two more bogeys for a 72Kriti Chowhan 7573 was sixth at 4over 148 Khushi Khanijau 7377 was seventh at 6over 150 and Anahita Singh 7478 at 8over 152 was eighth Rhea Purvi Sarvanan 7875 and Lavanya Jadon 7677 were tied for ninthSome of the bigger names continued to struggle as Vidhtari Urs 7975 was T11 as Neha Tripathi 8175 made an improvement but was still T14 as was Seher Atwal 7779 Amandeep Drall 7979 made the cut which was applied at 14over 148 and 22 players went through to the final round IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2025-sneha-takes-lead-with-second-days-best-card-in-leg-2--595782.html Thu, 16 Jan 2025 18:49:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2025-rhea-hopes-to-build-on-success-as-vani-vidhatri-return-to-action-in-second-leg-595370.html Kolkata Jan 14 A week after winning her maiden professional title Rhea Purvi Saravanan will have the privilege of teeing off in the first group in the second leg of the WPGT 2025 season at the Tollygunge Club Rhea will play alongside Durga Nittur and Lavanya Jadon who made her pro debut only last week They are among the 33 players who will compete for the Rs13 lakh purse at the popular venue Rhea who shot 727271 last week is hoping to build on the success as the event sees the return to action of Vidhtari Urs who made a successful start to her pro career in 2024 seasoned Vani Kapoor and Ridhima Dilawari both of whom are multiple time winners on the TourLast seasons Order of Merit winner Hitaashee Bakshi is skipping the event again while Vidhatri Urs three times winner in 2024 as well as Sneha Singh and Jasmine Shekar who won twice each will be hoping for early success in 2025The field also includes the 2023 Order of Meritwinner Sneha Singh and Neha Tripathi who tied for fifth last week Jasmine Shekar who was third in the first leg and Durga Nittur who was fourthAmandeep Drall is seeking to find the form that saw her play on the Ladies European Tour while other past winners ready for the challenge and looking for a good start to the season are Seher Atwal and Anvitha Narender The dark horses could be Khushi Khanijau and Shweta Mansingh both of whom have the experience to do well The three amateurs in the field are Anaahat Bindra Mehak Lohan and Heena KangLast week Rhea Purvi got off to a fine start in the 2025 season of the Hero WPGT with a maiden win in the opening leg at the Golmuri Golf Club in Jamshedpur The 22yearold golfer from Kolar edged out amateur Saanvi Somu in the first playoff hole after both players were tied at 1under 215 for three days They shot 71 each on the final day Rhea had rounds of 727271 while Saanvi who has time and again finished runnerup shot 756971Rhea who is now in her fifth season as a pro lives and trains at Zion Hills which is two hours away from Bengaluru She bettered the Tiedeighth place finish in the 14th Leg of the 2024 HPWGT season IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2025-rhea-hopes-to-build-on-success-as-vani-vidhatri-return-to-action-in-second-leg-595370.html Tue, 14 Jan 2025 18:22:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-announces-action-packed-schedule-for-first-half-of-2025-595201.html New Delhi Jan 13 The Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI on Monday announced a lucrative and actionpacked first half of the 2025 season which will tee off in February and will offer a whopping Rs 1566 crore as total prize money Once underway the season will feature 11 consecutive weeks of nonstop golfing action across as many venues between February and April with a whopping INR 1566 crore on offer as total prize money excluding the Indian Open One of the key highlights of the seasons first half is the addition of four new events on the schedule Chattisgarh Open Golf Championship prize money INR 1 crore Venue Fairway Golf amp Lake Resort Naya Raipur PGTI Invitational prize money INR 15 crore Venue Jaypee Greens Golf Resort Greater Noida Indorama Open Golf Championship prize money INR 2 crore Venue Kalhaar Blues amp Greens Ahmedabad and Calance Open prize money INR 1 crore Venue Delhi NCR The new events also mark the beginning of PGTIs association with new title sponsors including the Government of ChattisgarhThe PGTI has so far staged events across India in 16 States two Union Territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi With the staging of the Chattisgarh Open the PGTI will make its first foray into the state thus further expanding its geographical footprint in the country to 17 StatesArun Sao Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh expressed his excitement about the upcoming Chhattisgarh Open Golf Championship the firstever professional golf event in the stateSharing his vision for the event and its significance for the region Sao said I am delighted to support the staging of the firstever professional golf event in Chhattisgarh in association with the PGTI The inaugural Chhattisgarh Open Golf Championship will play a pivotal role in promoting the state as an attractive golfing destination and placing it firmly on the international golfing map This event will not only bring leading professionals from India and overseas to Chhattisgarh but will also inspire budding golfers in the state to dream big and aim highThe Kapil DevGrant Thornton Invitational prize money INR 2 crore returns for its third edition with the venue moving to Prestige Golfshire Club in BengaluruThe three international events scheduled to be staged in the first half of 2024 are the DP World Tour cosanctioned Hero Indian Open prize money USD 225 million and the Challenge Tour cosanctioned Kolkata Challenge and Delhi Challenge both offering prize money of USD 300000 eachAnother important announcement of the first half is PGTIs new partnership with sports development company Victorious Endeavours whose brand Victorious Choice comes on board as a Tour Partner of the PGTIRahul Mehta Owner Vof ictorious Choice said Its a privilege and honour for us to be associated with the PGTI driven by a leadership team comprising the legendary Kapil Dev and the dynamic Amandeep Johl that is eager to set new benchmarks for the sport As a sports development company Victorious Endeavours takes great pride in this partnership that also associates us with the finest golfing talent in the country Victorious Choice created to take theJoy of Golfing to the next level couldnt have asked for a better partnershipThe other major development is the resumption of PGTIs secondtier tour after a fiveyear gap in the form of PGTI NexGen events Three PGTI NexGen events with prize purses of INR 20 lakh each are slated to be held in the first quarter of 2025 at venues such as Phillaur Kapurthala and Golden Greens GurugramThe total prize purse on offer in the first half of the 2025 season has seen an increase of INR 45 crore as compared to the first half of 2024 The number of events has also increased from nine to 11 in comparison to last seasonWe at the PGTI are extremely excited to announce a busy first half of the season with more events and a higher prize purse on offer for the professionals as compared to previous years This is in line with PGTIs core objective of creating maximum playing opportunities for our Indian professionals We thank our new title sponsors and tour partners for all their support and for sharing our vision of growing Indian professional golf The new partnerships reflect the positive growth trajectory of Indian golf said the President of PGTI Kapil DevWe are also looking forward to exploring new territory by taking the tour to Chattisgarh for the first time thus expanding PGTIs base across the country The other key development is the launch of the PGTI NexGen events which will help us create an efficient supply line of talent for the future I wish the players all the best he added IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-announces-action-packed-schedule-for-first-half-of-2025-595201.html Mon, 13 Jan 2025 20:11:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-veer-ahlawat-hopes-to-make-his-mark-in-usd-8mn-dubai-desert-classic-golf-595190.html Dubai Jan 13 A year after gaining attention by finishing runnerup in the Indian Open Veer Ahlawat now steps up at the USD 8 million Dubai Desert Classic Ahlawat who turns 29 in two months may not have won in India last year but his secondplace finish did help him win the Order of Merit of India which earned him a DP World Tour Card Ahlawat is one of the two Indians in the field in the Dubai Desert Classic this year The other one being Shubhankar Sharma who is making his eighth appearance in this event often labelled as the Major of the Middle EastThat secondplace finish in India played a big role in my winning the Order of Merit and then I got a spot in the elite Dubai Desert Classic courtesy of the sponsors It certainly gives me a massive boost to be able to get into this event which has some of the biggest stars from the world of golf major winners like Rory McIlroy Jon Rahm and so many stars said Ahlawat ahead of the event which takes place at the Emirates Golf Club this weekThe Dubai Desert Classic has always had a special attraction I have never played in UAE even as an amateur and this event has been iconic and many of my seniors have figured in it and I always wanted to come here and play and now is my chance added the sixfoottall AhlawatThis is almost like India and I met so many who are familiar with Indian golf so it has been great and I have just been here for a couple of days he addedAhlawat is the third Indian to benefit from the alliance between the Indian PGTI Tour and the DP World with the Order of Merit winner getting a card on the DP World Tour The previous winners who got onto the DPWT via this route were Manu Gandas 2023 and Om Prakash Chouhan 2024Ahlawats superb season included two titles and seven top10 finishes including a runnerup finish at the USD 225 million Indian Open which is Indias biggest DP World Tour event in IndiaA year ago Sharma recorded his best finish in Dubai as he finished T16 with cards of 72717070 and a total of 5under as Rory McIlroy won the Dubai event for the fourth time With wins in 2023 and 2024 McIlroy is now gunning for an incredible threeinarow IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-veer-ahlawat-hopes-to-make-his-mark-in-usd-8mn-dubai-desert-classic-golf-595190.html Mon, 13 Jan 2025 19:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-veer-ahlawat-hopes-to-make-his-mark-in-usd-8mn-dubai-desert-classic-595191.html Dubai Jan 13 A year after gaining attention by finishing runnerup in the Indian Open Veer Ahlawat now steps up at the USD 8 million Dubai Desert Classic Ahlawat who turns 29 in two months may not have won in India last year but his secondplace finish did help him win the Order of Merit of India which earned him a DP World Tour Card Ahlawat is one of the two Indians in the field in the Dubai Desert Classic this year The other one being Shubhankar Sharma who is making his eighth appearance in this event often labelled as the Major of the Middle EastThat secondplace finish in India played a big role in my winning the Order of Merit and then I got a spot in the elite Dubai Desert Classic courtesy of the sponsors It certainly gives me a massive boost to be able to get into this event which has some of the biggest stars from the world of golf major winners like Rory McIlroy Jon Rahm and so many stars said Ahlawat ahead of the event which takes place at the Emirates Golf Club this weekThe Dubai Desert Classic has always had a special attraction I have never played in UAE even as an amateur and this event has been iconic and many of my seniors have figured in it and I always wanted to come here and play and now is my chance added the sixfoottall AhlawatThis is almost like India and I met so many who are familiar with Indian golf so it has been great and I have just been here for a couple of days he addedAhlawat is the third Indian to benefit from the alliance between the Indian PGTI Tour and the DP World with the Order of Merit winner getting a card on the DP World Tour The previous winners who got onto the DPWT via this route were Manu Gandas 2023 and Om Prakash Chouhan 2024Ahlawats superb season included two titles and seven top10 finishes including a runnerup finish at the USD 225 million Indian Open which is Indias biggest DP World Tour event in IndiaA year ago Sharma recorded his best finish in Dubai as he finished T16 with cards of 72717070 and a total of 5under as Rory McIlroy won the Dubai event for the fourth time With wins in 2023 and 2024 McIlroy is now gunning for an incredible threeinarow IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-veer-ahlawat-hopes-to-make-his-mark-in-usd-8mn-dubai-desert-classic-595191.html Mon, 13 Jan 2025 19:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/matsuyama-romps-to-win-with-record-breaking-feats-at-the-sentry-593890.html Kapalua Hawaii Jan 6 Hideki Matsuyama completed a dominant and recordbreaking march to an unprecedented 11th PGA Tour victory following a stylish threestroke triumph in the seasonopening event The Sentry The 32yearold Japanese star held off fellow major champion Collin Morikawa with a closing 8under 65 which helped establish a new 72hole scoring record in relation to par with his staggering 35under 257 winning aggregate in the USD 20 million signature eventMatsuyama who won twice last season to break a tie with KJ Choi of South Korea for most PGA Tour titles by an Asian golfer also hit 35 birdies or better throughout a glorious week breaking the previous mark by one He had led the tournament from the second dayI knew Collin was going to play good so I was going to say hey Im going to shoot 10under today that was the attitude I had said a jubilant Matsuyama who earned 700 FedExCup points and USD 36 millionThat last putt it felt like if I make it itll give me the record Im so happy that it went in added the Asian star who surpassed the previous Tour record of 34under set at Kapalua by Cameron Smith in 2022 and the 34 birdies or better record in a tournament held by South Koreas Sungjae Im and SmithIm ensured a memorable week for Asian golf by finishing solo third for his fourth top10 in five starts at The Sentry after he closed with a bogeyfree 65 to finish six shots behind the 2025 seasons first champion at the par73 Plantation Course at Kapalua in HawaiiLeading by one over Morikawa into the final round Matsuyama enjoyed a flying start by holing out a wedge shot from just over 100 yards for a sensational eagle on the par4 third hole When Morikawa who was chasing a seventh career win applied pressure with birdies on 10 and 11 the Japanese ace responded with birdies of his own on 11 and 12 to maintain his advantage and eventually cruised home to become the seventh player to complete a Hawaiian double as he had also won the 2022 Sony Open in HawaiiOn the 3rd hole 105 yards I thought Oh I hit a good one I knew it was going to be right there for a birdie but then I heard the crowd so I knew that it went in Definitely happy that it did It was a delicate touch shot and I was able to make a great shot there said Matsuyama who will make the short hop to the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu starting ThursdayMatsuyamas third victory over the past 10 months will lift him to No 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking his career best was No 2 in 2017 and it will no doubt be a big motivator for him to chase down current and runaway No 1 Scottie Scheffler who missed The Sentry through a hand injurySeptember November December I really didnt get to play too much golf so I kind of forgot about the last two wins so I think this is kind of the beginning he said I have goals within myself and Im not going to say it right here but there are unfinished business that I have set for myself that I still am striving to get toMorikawa was disappointed he didnt put more pressure on his rival when the door was ajar Just going through the shots I left out there there was a good handful that I wish I could have back Its going to take me a few hours or a day to get over it Its tough to win 35under par is thats low He Matsuyama was matching me yesterday shot for shot and I felt like I was playing lights out right Today he just never let up said the AmericanTwotime Tour winner Im sank eight birdies for another bogeyfree card as he recorded his lowest fourday score at Kapalua with 29under I feel great It was a decent finish for the first event and I hope it continues said the 26yearoldIt was bogeyfree round for two days It was great play It was pretty windy today but I made some good saves I think I will take next week off and play from Palm Springs I need to try to step it up step by step as this season continues on My last win was about three years ago I wish to win again this season but winning is not that easy here There are a lot of skilled players as well as young and new players who has potential I am going to try my best IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/matsuyama-romps-to-win-with-record-breaking-feats-at-the-sentry-593890.html Mon, 06 Jan 2025 10:53:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/liv-golf-reveals-star-studded-lineup-for-first-ever-international-series-event-in-india-593311.html Gurugram Jan 2 LIV Golf on Thursday announced a starstudded lineup for the firstever International Series tournament in India scheduled to take place at the prestigious DLF Golf and Country Club here from January 30 to February 2 As part of the Asian Tours International Series the tournament features a 2 million prize purse and promises to be a milestone event for Indian golf with a lineup of global icons and rising stars The event will see some of the biggest names in golf showcasing their skills on Indian soil Bryson DeChambeau the US Open Champion celebrated for his powerdriven and innovative approach will headline the tournament Known as the Mad Scientist for his analytical style DeChambeaus memorable 2020 US Open victory made waves in the golfing world and his debut in India is eagerly anticipated the organisers informed in a release on ThursdayJoining DeChambeau is Paul Casey whose illustrious career includes numerous international victories Known for his competitive spirit and consistency Casey brings significant prestige to the eventIndias own Anirban Lahiri will bring his formidable skills to the competition giving local fans a reason to cheer as he competes on home soil Lahiri has represented India at the Olympics and has multiple international wins to his name making him one of the countrys finest golf ambassadorsAdding to the star power is Joaquin Niemann captain of Torque GC who finished as the runnerup in the 2024 LIV Golf League Individual Championship Niemanns meteoric rise in global golf rankings includes nine worldwide wins by April 2022 In 2023 he led Torque GC to four team victories while individually claiming titles at LIV Golf Mayakoba and LIV Golf Jeddah in 2024 His triumph at the 2024 Saudi International secured him the International Series Rankings Champion titleAnother exciting addition is Mexicos Carlos Ortiz who achieved his first LIV Golf individual title at Houston in 2024 With nine professional wins to his name and a careerhigh world ranking of 44 Ortiz has also consistently delivered strong performances including his victory at the 2024 International Series OmanThe lineup also includes Harold Varner III celebrated for his unforgettable victory at LIV Golf DC in 2024 Varner who has three toplevel wins famously won the 2022 Saudi International with a dramatic 92foot eagle putt His performances are a testament to his ability to shine under pressureMito Pereira a 10time professional tournament winner adds further depth to the roster A close friend of his Torque GC captain Joaquin Niemann Pereiras career highlights include leading the 2022 PGA Championship through 54 holes before finishing third Pereira also represented Chile at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 the release informedSebastian Munoz a seasoned Colombian professional completes the Torque GC team lineup With four professional wins Munoz has represented Colombia in international competitions including a thrilling sevenman playoff for the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics His experience and skill make him a valuable addition to the rosterThe International Series India 2025 marks the opening of a 10event calendar for the year serving as a gateway for players aiming to qualify for the LIV Golf LeagueAakash Ohri Joint Managing Director and Chief Business Officer DLF said We are confident the course will offer the worlds best a stern test and we are looking forward to welcoming Indias golf fans and sports fans from all over the world to experience Gurugram and IndiaThis landmark tournament underscores Indias growing prominence on the global sports map offering an unforgettable experience for golf enthusiasts worldwide IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/liv-golf-reveals-star-studded-lineup-for-first-ever-international-series-event-in-india-593311.html Thu, 02 Jan 2025 19:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/ioa-recognises-new-leadership-of-igu-after-disputed-elections-592954.html New Delhi Dec 31 The Indian Olympic Association IOA has formally recognised the newlyelected Governing Council of the Indian Golf Union IGU following a contentious election process The recognised officebearers of the IGU Governing Council are Harish Kumar Shetty President Basant Kumar Repswal Secretary General and Manoj Joshi Honorary Treasurer The IOAs recognition comes after a thorough investigation into two separate Annual General Meetings AGMs and elections held on December 15 at different venues in New DelhiThe controversy began when reports surfaced that two parallel elections had been conducted for the IGUs Governing Council While one election was overseen by Justice OP Garg Retd the other was reportedly conducted by a different group under the leadership of Brijinder Singh Both factions claimed legitimacy creating confusion in the golfing fraternityThe IOA received two key communications a letter from IGU officials dated December 15 Additionally the IOA received a letter from Brijinder Singh addressed to the Ministry of Youth Affairs amp Sports which outlined details of the second election conducted the same dayAfter a detailed examination of the documents reports and procedural adherence of the two elections the IOA concluded that the AGM and election conducted by Justice OP Garg Retd was legitimate The IOA cited several reasons for this decisionJustice OP Garg Retd who had been officially appointed as the Returning Officer never resigned from his role contrary to claims made by the other faction This established his authority to oversee the electionsThe AGM and election presided over by Justice Garg adhered to Article 22 of the IGUs constitution which governs quorum requirements The election saw participation from 21 member units represented by 39 attendees Furthermore the IOA received comprehensive documentation including an attendance sheet signed by all participants verifying the legitimacy of the processBased on these findings the IOA officially recognised the election results declared by Justice Garg and endorsed the leadership of the newlyelected Governing Council of the IGUIn her letter to the IGU IOA President PT Usha extended her congratulations to the newlyelected Governing Council She expressed confidence in their ability to promote golf in India while upholding the values of the Olympic movement We wish you all the very best and hope that the new Governing Council of the Indian Golf Union shall do its best to promote the sport in India whilst upholding the Olympic values said Usha IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/ioa-recognises-new-leadership-of-igu-after-disputed-elections-592954.html Tue, 31 Dec 2024 20:50:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-tour-championship-yashas-chandra-rises-to-top-spot-mane-in-hot-chase-after-day-3-591292.html Jamshedpur Jharkhand Dec 21 Yashas Chandra MS of Mysuru made his way to the top of the leaderboard with a flawless fiveunder 66 in round three of the INR 3 crore Tour Championship 2024 the Professional Golf Tour of Indias PGTI seasonending event being played at the Beldih and Golmuri Golf Courses here on Saturday Yashas 696466 who was overnight fifth and four shots off the lead climbed four places on Saturday as his total reached 14under 199 Yashas yet to win a title enjoyed a slender oneshot lead Udayan Mane 676568 twotime winner of the TATA Steel Tour Championship signed for a steady 68 to move up two spots to second position at 13under 200 Greater Noidabased Sudhir Sharma 67 and Sri Lankan N Thangaraja 70 were in tied third spot at 12under 201The first three rounds of the richest event on the PGTI saw onehalf of the field play their first nine holes at Golmuri Golf Course and second nine at Beldih Golf Course while the other half of the field played Beldih first followed by Golmuri This format will also be followed for the fourth and last round of the tournament in Jamshedpur with the par for the round being 71 The leading groups will start at Golmuri and finish at BeldihYashas Chandra currently eighth on the PGTIs merit list with seven top10s to his credit this season came up with a solid effort as he hit 16 greens in regulation on Saturday The 29yearold golfer from Mysuru was on fire on the front nine where he sank four birdies two from a range of 15 to 20 feet and two on the Par5sAfter the turn Yashas picked up another birdie on the Par5 12th While the putts did not fall for him on the back nine Yashas made sure not to concede any shots by making pars all the way to the endYashas said Im delighted with the way I struck the ball today I also hit it close on both courses The only disappointment was missing a few putts here in Beldih I felt today my tee shots were better than the previous two days and that made a huge differenceThe biggest challenge here in Jamshedpur is getting the speed right on the greens on both courses Thats the reason we have to practice some putts here in Beldih before resuming our round after arriving from Golmuri he said This being a lowscoring track I know that I will have to be aggressive in the final round There will be plenty of low numbers tomorrow so Im aware that I also need to shoot a low score in order to be in contention he addedUdayan Mane like Yashas made steady progress in round three Udayan hit it close through the day as he picked up four birdies in exchange for a bogey He almost drove the green on the Par4 fourth hole and left himself a tapin for birdie on the eighth However several putts didnt roll in for Mane as he had a couple of lipouts and a couple that grazed the holeChandigarhs Yuvraj Sandhu produced a tournament low of eightunder 63 that featured five consecutive birdies Yuvraj was placed tied sixth at 10under 203 along with TATA Steel PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawat 68 C Muniyappa of Bengaluru made a holeinone on the seventh during his round of 69 that placed him tied eighth at nineunder 204 Defending champion and twotime tournament winner Gaganjeet Bhullar 67 was a further shot behind in tied 10th placeThe three Jamshedpurbased professionals Karan Taunk threeover 216 Kurush Heerjee 11over 224 and Digvijay Singh 15over 228 were placed tied 49th tied 56th and 61st respectively IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-tour-championship-yashas-chandra-rises-to-top-spot-mane-in-hot-chase-after-day-3-591292.html Sat, 21 Dec 2024 19:41:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-dechambeau-confirmed-for-international-series-india-591121.html Gurugram Dec 20 Golf star Bryson DeChambeau will tee it up at International Series India scheduled from January 30 to February 2 marking the first time a defending major champion will be competing in the Indian subcontinent The Crushers GC captain joins Indian teammate Anirban Lahiri for the first of 10 elevated events on the 2025 Asian Tour calendar with more marquee names to be unveiled for the US2 million tournament taking place at DLF Golf amp Country Club in Gurugram DeChambeau who formerly played on the PGA Tour and won two major championships the 2020 and 2024 US Open is currently active in the LIV Golf LeagueThe 31yearold renowned for his analytical approach to the sport which earned him the nickname The Scientist won the US Open at Pinehurst in June adding to the same title he won at Winged Foot in 2020With two wins on the LIV Golf League and seven PGA Tour titles as well as his two majors DeChambeau is one of the most dynamic figures in modernday sport well known all over the world thanks to his unorthodox approach to the gameFrom gaining weight for increased driving distance to designing his own clubs he is famed for the analytical approach and unique vision that has brought marginal gains and reaped rewards over the yearsBorn in Modesto city of California DeChambeau is the fifth player in history to win both the NCAA Division I championship and the US Amateur in the same year By winning the US Open he became the third player to win these three championships after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-dechambeau-confirmed-for-international-series-india-591121.html Fri, 20 Dec 2024 21:13:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/tour-championship-chhibber-bedi-and-thangaraja-share-top-spot-after-round-1-590908.html Jamshedpur Dec 19 Delhis Saarthak Chhibber Chandigarhs Aadil Bedi and Sri Lankan golfer N Thangaraja shot scores of sixunder 65 to be joint leaders after round one of the INR 3 crore Tour Championship 2024 the PGTIs seasonending event being played at the Beldih and Golmuri Golf Courses here on Thursday The four players tied for second place at fiveunder 66 were Punes Rohan Dhole Patil Shamim Khan of Delhi Bengalurus M Dharma and Jamal Hossain of BangladeshTwotime TATA Steel Tour Championship winner Udayan Mane PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawat and SSP Chawrasia were among the six players in tiedeighth position at fourunder 67 Defending champion and twotime winner Gaganjeet Bhullar returned an evenpar 71 to be tied for 34thThe first round of the tournament saw onehalf of the field play their first nine holes at Golmuri Golf Course and the second nine at Beldih Golf Course while the other half of the field played Beldih first followed by Golmuri This format will also be followed for the next three rounds of the tournament in Jamshedpur with the par for the round being 71Saarthak Chhibber currently 27th on the PGTIs merit list with three top10s this season was quick off the blocks with three birdies on the first six holes hitting it close on most occasions After a bogey on the eighth he came back well with an excellent chip to set up a birdie on the ninthWith his ballstriking being topnotch the 26yearold Saarthak looking to pick up his maiden title collected three more birdies on the backnine including a great up and down from the bunker Chhibber scored birdies on all the four par5sSaarthak said I enjoyed a very hot start The early birdies and three good parsaves including two from longrange kept the momentum going for me I was constantly hitting it close and fortunately my short game held up Ive not had good outings at the last two events but Im carrying the confidence of having performed consistently this seasonAs for the two golf courses the conditions have been great I feel one can be more aggressive in Golmuri while a little more planning is required for Beldih he saidAadil Bedi was oneover through the backnine where he made two birdies at the cost of three bogeys However Aadil currently 48th on the PGTIs money list came roaring back with a fabulous frontnine where he pocketed five birdies and an eagle on the closing ninth His eagle and two birdies came as a result of conversions from a range of 10 to 15 feetAadil said After a slow start I found my groove in the second half of my round Even though its not reflected in my scores my game has been trending well of late Its now a matter of putting it all together this weekThangaraja currently 38th on the PGTI Order of Merit produced seven birdies and a bogey during his round of 65 to share the opening day honours with Saarthak and Aadil The three Jamshedpurbased professionals Karan Taunk 72 Digvijay Singh 74 and Kurush Heerjee 78 were placed tied 45th tied 54th and tied 60th respectively IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/tour-championship-chhibber-bedi-and-thangaraja-share-top-spot-after-round-1-590908.html Thu, 19 Dec 2024 21:48:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pga-unveils-slate-of-seven-events-in-2025-fall-series-schedule-590524.html Ponte Vedra Beach USA Dec 18 The Professional Golf Association PGA TOUR has announced its schedule for the 2025 Fall Series a critical sevenevent slate which includes trips to Japan Mexico and Bermuda that helps finalise eligibility for the 2026 season The Fall Series includes events on the PGA Tour that overlap two calendar years This series was created in 2007 as part of the reorganisation of the entire tour schedule and became a part of the PGA Tour in 201314 IndianAmerican golfer Sahith Theegala won one of the Fall Series events in 2023 to confirm his spot for the 2024 PGA TOURThe FedExCup Fall in 2025 will kick off with the Procore Championship Sept 814 at Silverado Resort in Napa California before taking a twoweek break during which the Ryder Cup will be contested at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale New York The FedExCup Fall resumes with the Sanderson Farms Championship Sept 29Oct 5 at The Country Club of Jackson in Jackson Mississippi the PGA Tour informed in a release on Tuesday nightBuilding on an incredibly compelling FedExCup Fall the upcoming eligibility changes further heighten the drama and excitement for fans with more at stake for players than ever before Tyler Dennis PGA TOUR Chief Competitions Officer was quoted as saying in the releaseWith events in four US states Japan Mexico and Bermuda the conclusion to the 2025 golf calendar promises to be exciting for our fans worldwide while also providing a lasting impact in the communities where we will play he saidAs announced last week the PGA TOURs event in Japan has both a new title sponsor and a new home With the TOURs multiyear agreement with global consulting company Baycurrent Inc the newly named Baycurrent Classic Oct 612 will be contested for the first time at Yokohama Country Club set in Yokohama Japan One of the premier golf courses in Japan Yokohama Country Club was designed in 1960 by Takeo Aiyama and remodeled in 2016 by Bill Coore and Ben CrenshawThe Black Desert Championship Oct 2026 follows in Southern Utah at Black Desert Resort as the TOUR builds upon a successful 2024 debut that marked the TOURs first trip to Utah in more than 60 years the release addedAfter that the FedExCup Fall series will resume in Los Cabos Mexico with the World Wide Technology Championship Nov 39 at El Cardonal at Diamante a Tiger Woodsdesigned golf course The season then concludes with the Butterfield Bermuda Championship Nov 1016 at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton Bermuda followed by The RSM Classic Nov 1723 with the FedExCup Fall standings being finalized at Sea Island Golf Club in St Simons Island GeorgiaAs previously announced the PGA TOUR has made several eligibility changes for the 2026 season which will make the FedExCup Fall even more consequential in the coming year most notably that the top 100 in the FedExCup standings through the 2025 FedExCup Fall will secure exemption status for the following PGA TOUR Season a decrease from 125 in prior years with Nos 101125 having conditional statusThis change to the Priority Ranking as recommended by the TOURs Player Advisory Council and approved by the Policy Board on November 18 ensures the 35 players who receive their cards via the Korn Ferry Tour DP World Tour and PGA TOUR QSchool presented by Korn Ferry have a greater certainty of schedule and equitable playing opportunities the statement confirmedThe FedExCup Fall will finalise top 100 eligibility for the 2026 FedExCup Regular Season providing exempt status for FullField events as well as a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship Among the significant benefits to winning during the FedExCup Fall are a twoyear PGA TOUR exemption 500 FedExCup points entry into the seasonopening The Sentry and eligibility into major championships that have traditionally invited PGA TOUR winnersFive of the seven winners from the 2023 FedExCup Fall went on to qualify for the 2024 FedExCup Playoffs Sahith Theegala Tom Kim Collin Morikawa Erik van Rooyen and Ludvig berg while seven players in 2024 moved into the top 125 to secure fully exempt status for the 2025 season after beginning the FedExCup Fall outside the top 125Players who qualify for the 2025 FedExCup Playoffs top 70 are exempt for the 2026 season with players advancing to the BMW Championship top 50 also being exempt into all Signature Events for 2026 Players ranked No 51 and beyond will carry their FedExCup Points from the Regular Season and first FedExCup Playoffs event into the FedExCup Fall and will continue to accumulate FedExCup Points to finalize the FedExCup Fall standings and determine eligibility for the 2026 season As part of the Aon Next 10 players ranked Nos 5160 through the FedExCup Fall earn their way into two earlyseason 2026 Signature Events the ATampT Pebble Beach ProAm and The Genesis InvitationalThe PGA TOURs Challenge Season consisting of three events will follow the FedExCup Fall the Hero World Challenge Dec 17 hosted by Tiger Woods the mixedteam Grant Thornton Invitational Dec 814 an event cosanctioned by the PGA TOUR and LPGA and the PNC Championship Dec 1521 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pga-unveils-slate-of-seven-events-in-2025-fall-series-schedule-590524.html Wed, 18 Dec 2024 09:55:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/scottie-scheffler-named-pga-tour-player-of-the-year-588839.html Texas US Dec 11 World No 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has won the Jack Nicklaus Award as the PGA Tour Player of the Year for the 2024 season Scheffler who won seven PGA TOUR events in 2024 the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the seasonlong FedExCup title is the first player since Tiger Woods 20052007 to win Player of the Year honours in three consecutive seasonsScheffler joined Tiger Woods as the only players to win the Jack Nicklaus Award in three consecutive seasons est 1990 Woods won Player of the Year in consecutive seasons from 19992003 five straight and 20052007 three straightScheffler 2022 2023 2024 Woods 11 times most recently 2013 and McIlroy 2012 2014 2019 are the only players to win the award three or more times Since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007 nine players have won the FedExCup and PGA Tour Player of the Year in the same seasonOn behalf of the PGA Tour congratulations to Scottie Scheffler on a truly historic season capped off with his first FedExCup title and today a third consecutive Jack Nicklaus Award as PGA Tour Player of the Year said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan Scottie took on challenges from the best players in the world on the biggest stages all season and being honoured as PGA TOUR Player of the Year is the ultimate sign of respect from his peersPlayer of the Year is determined by a member vote with PGA Tour members who played in at least 15 events during the 2024 season eligible to vote The voting period ran from November 25 through December 4 Scheffler received 91 percent of the vote for the Jack Nicklaus Award and was selected over two other nominees Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroyScheffler won the FedExCup for the first time on the strength of seven PGA Tour victories in 2024 bringing his career total to 13 wins He became the first player to successfully defend his title at THE PLAYERS Championship and won the Masters Tournament for the second time 2022 2024 becoming the first player to win THE PLAYERS a major championship and the FedExCup in the same seasonIn addition to wins at THE PLAYERS Masters Tournament and TOUR Championship he captured four titles at Signature Events Arnold Palmer Invitational the Memorial TournamentHis sevenwin season marked the first time a player won seven or more times in a single season since Woods in 2007 Throughout the entire season Scheffler maintained his No 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking a position he has occupied since May 21 2023 82 straight weeks In total Scheffler recorded a Tourbest 16 top10s in 19 starts and did not miss a cutSchefflers season also included a gold medal winning the mens Olympic golf competition in his Olympic debut and a victory for the United States at the Presidents Cup in Montreal Quebec Canada his fourth international team competition appearance Presidents Cup 2022 2024 Ryder Cup 2020 2023During the Challenge Season a series of unofficial events Scheffler successfully defended his title at the Hero World Challenge winning the Woodshosted event by six strokes For the second consecutive season he also received the Byron Nelson Award for recording the lowest scoring average on tour in 2024 6865PGA Tour Rookie of the Year for the 2024 season will be announced before the end of the year IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/scottie-scheffler-named-pga-tour-player-of-the-year-588839.html Wed, 11 Dec 2024 12:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/former-sikkim-hc-judge-permod-kohli-appointed-new-returning-officer-for-indian-golf-union-elections-587314.html New Delhi Dec 3 Former Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court Permod Kohli has been appointed as Returning Officer RO for Indian Golf Union IGU elections to be held on December 15 With the tenure of the incumbent governing council led by president Brijinder Singh coming to an end the new office bearers will be elected for the period of 20242026 The appointment of the new RO for elections came in the wake of the resignation of former judge of the Allahabad High Court Justice O P Garg With the powers vested to me as per the National Sports Development Code 2011 and also approved by the majority of the Governing Council of the Indian Golf Union I have appointed Justice Retd Permod Kohli as the Returning Officer to conduct the IGU elections on 15 December 2024 The fresh election schedule and other instructions shall be forwarded to all stakeholders by the Returning Officer Justice Retd Permod Kohli in due course IGU President Brijinder Singh said in an official email to all State Golf Associations SGAsAccording to the new election schedule all eligible SGAs have to file nominations by December 6 after which the new RO will scrutinise the candidates and prepare the final list of contesting candidates by December 10 SGAs will have the freedom to withdraw any of their candidates till December 10 after which the elections will be held on December 15 and the results also declared the same day IGU said in a releaseThere was a lot of chaos after Justice Garg reversed his order within 24 hours after suspending five State Golf Associations SGAs Himachal Pradesh Proam Golf Association Arunachal Pradesh Golf Association Madhya Pradesh Golf Association Nagaland Golf Association and Sikkim State Golf Association for not following the IGU byelaws on November 25 The five suspending SGAs are not allowed to be part of the election process IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/former-sikkim-hc-judge-permod-kohli-appointed-new-returning-officer-for-indian-golf-union-elections-587314.html Tue, 03 Dec 2024 15:48:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/servo-masters-2024-jamal-hossain-quells-stiff-challenge-from-rivals-to-bag-crown-585725.html Digboi Assam Nov 23 The seasoned Jamal Hossain of Bangladesh saw off a stiff challenge from multiple rivals with a stoic final round score of oneunder 71 to bag the crown at the INR 85 lakh Servo Masters 2024 that concluded at the Digboi Golf Links here on Saturday Jamal Hossain 68657271 totalled 12under 276 for the week to win his fifth title by a narrow oneshot margin He picked up a prize money cheque worth INR 1275 lakh to jump 22 spots from 39th to 17th place in the PGTI RankingThere was a fourway tie for second place at 11under 277 between Noidas Gaurav Pratap Singh 72677167 Delhi golfers Kapil Kumar 71706868 and Sachin Baisoya 69736768 and Punes Divyansh Dubey 68706970 Udayan Mane 70 and Samarth Dwivedi 70 finished tied for sixth at 10under 278 Lucknows Sanjay Kumar signed for the tournaments lowest score of eightunder 64 to secure tied 12th place at sevenunder 281 Deven Bhumij 78 the only Digboibased professional to make the cut ended the week in tied 46th place at sixover 294Hossain who enjoyed a twoshot lead over the last two rounds made an early bogey for the third day in succession when he dropped a shot on the first hole But like previous days the 39yearold came roaring back once again with birdies on the next two holes landing it within four feet of the flag on both occasionsThen despite some great chipping that earned him birdies on the 11th and 14th Hossain conceded bogeys on the 10th 12th and 13th as a result of some ordinary putting that seemed to derail his title hopesWith multiple contenders including Gaurav Pratap Singh Kapil Kumar Sachin Baisoya and Divyansh Dubey breathing down his neck Hossain relied on all his experience to bring out his best on the last two holes and snatch victoryHossain executed two excellent iron shots before making a clutch putt from eight feet for birdie on the 17th The Dhaka resident sealed it with a brilliant chipputt for par on the last hole after his nearest rivals Divyansh Dubey 70 Gaurav Pratap Singh 67 and Sachin Baisoya 68 bogeyed the 18th hole to crash out of contention Kapil Kumar 68 who also mounted a serious challenge on day four couldnt find a birdie in the late stages in order to catch up with JamalHossain said I made a good comeback once again after a poor start After a couple of bad shots on the 10th I recovered really well to salvage a bogey there because it couldve been worse My poor putting form continued today but my tee shots approaches and chipping saved the day for meTowards the end I just thought that I have to give it my all and things fell in place perfectly for me The birdie on the 17th gave me a lot of selfbelief as that eightfooter was the longest putt I had made all day I then used all my experience to get out of a tough spot on the 18th and see it home with a threefeet par conversion he saidIm delighted to win here in Digboi at the magnificent Digboi Golf Links for the first time I thank IndianOil for their support to this event he added IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/servo-masters-2024-jamal-hossain-quells-stiff-challenge-from-rivals-to-bag-crown-585725.html Sat, 23 Nov 2024 20:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/servo-masters-2024-jamal-hossain-hangs-in-there-with-a-72-to-maintain-two-shot-lead-585426.html Digboi Assam Nov 22 Bangladeshs Jamal Hossain hung in there with a hardfought evenpar 72 to maintain his overnight twoshot lead at a total of 11under 205 after Round Three of the Servo Masters 2024 being played at the Digboi Golf Links here on Friday Divyansh Dubey of Pune struck a 69 to jump three spots to second position at a total of nineunder 207 Samarth Dwivedi shot the days best score of 66 to occupy tiedthird place along with Olympian Udayan Mane 70 and Mani Ram 72 at eightunder 208 Deven Bhumij 73 the only Digboibased professional to make the cut ended the day in tied 33rd place at evenpar 216Jamal Hossain 686572 a fourtime winner on the Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI had a poor start for the second straight day as he bogeyed the second hole The 39yearold then came up with some excellent chipping to set up two tapins en route to his three birdies on the front nineJamal who was regularly missing putts from short range on Friday missed two such putts to drop a doublebogey and a bogey on the back nine He only managed one birdie on the back nine I continue to strike the ball well I also did well with my chipping today However I missed a lot of putts Im happy that I came back strong after an early bogey for the second day running Some of my approach shots were also not up to the mark he saidI managed to hang in there today despite an ordinary round thanks to all my experience Many years of experience have taught me how to handle myself on the course even when my game is not at its best Ill approach the final round like any other round and not put too much pressure on myself Jamal Hossain addedThe 22yearold Divyansh Dubey 687069 playing only his third season on the PGTI and searching for his maiden win produced five birdies and two bogeys on Friday Divyansh has been making news since the Pune event two weeks back where he had risen into contentionFrom the Pune event onwards Ive been in a good space mentally and as far as my game is concerned My ballstriking has been great over the last three weeks Ive been hitting fairways and greens in Digboi and its just been a matter of converting putts I feel capitalizing on my chances on the greens will be the key in the final round said Dubey IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/servo-masters-2024-jamal-hossain-hangs-in-there-with-a-72-to-maintain-two-shot-lead-585426.html Fri, 22 Nov 2024 20:05:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/servo-masters-2024-jamal-hossain-produces-a-low-of-65-to-rise-to-top-on-day-two-585186.html Digboi Assam Nov 21 Bangladeshi golfer Jamal Hossain produced a tournamentlow score of sevenunder 65 to rise into the lead at a total of 11under 133 in Round Two of the Servo Masters 2024 being played at the Digboi Golf Links here on Thursday The Gurugrambased Shivendra Singh Sisodia shot a 66 to end the day in second position at nineunder 135 Karnals Mani Ram and Hyderabads Milind Soni were placed tied third at eightunder 136 The overnight leader Amardeep Malik former champion Honey Baisoya Olympian Udayan Mane C Muniyappa Vikrant Chopra and Divyansh Dubey were all tied in fifth place at sixunder 138 Deven Bhumij was the only Digboibased professional to make the cut as he was placed tied 27th at oneunder 143 The cut was applied at threeover 147 with 53 professionals making the cutThe 39yearold Jamal Hossain 6865 a fourtime winner on the PGTI began the day one shot off the lead in tied second Hossain had a forgettable start as he bogeyed the first hole He then began finding his touch when he drove the green on the Par4 third hole to score his first birdie of the day Hossain thereafter pulled out some great iron and wedge shots to regularly land it close to the pins to pick up seven more birdies His longest conversion of the day was a 12footer for birdie on the 15thJamal Hossain credited his hitting for his low score saying I feel I regained my hitting form since last weeks event in Jaipur I hadnt been striking the ball well before that I worked on my hitting to sort out a few things before the Jaipur event and since then Ive been striking it wellI kept hitting it close today especially with my approach shots to create chances and left myself just one long putt Importantly I came back strongly despite a bogey at the start of the day The birdies on the sixth seventh and eighth gave impetus to my round I did well on the Par5s scoring three birdies on them he saidShivendra Singh Sisodias 6966 round featured an eagle on the 11th six birdies and two bogeys Shivendra was chipping it to perfection on Thursday as he chipped in for birdie on the 17th and also produced other good chips from the edge and the bunker to set up some short birdie putts IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/servo-masters-2024-jamal-hossain-produces-a-low-of-65-to-rise-to-top-on-day-two-585186.html Thu, 21 Nov 2024 22:53:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2024-nayanika-takes-1-shot-lead-over-hitaashee-jasmine-in-15th-leg-584633.html Hyderabad Nov 20 Nayanika Sanga who is looking for her maiden win on the Womens Pro Golf Tour WPGT took a slender oneshot lead after the first day in the 15th and final leg of the Tour at the Boulder Hills Golf amp Country Club here on Wednesday Nayanika 20 had seven birdies including three in a row on the back nine from the 11th to the 13th Her 4under 68 gave her a oneshot edge over last weeks winners Hitaashee Bakshi 69 and Jasmine Shekar 69 Four players Amandeep Drall Gaurika Bishnoi and Sneha Singh alongside Sri Lankan amateur Kaya Daluwatte were tied for fourth place with cards of 2under 70 eachNayanika who turned pro in 2022 had an early bogey on the second but birdies on the fourth and the eighth ensured she turned in 1under A bogey on the tenth pulled her back to even par but a hattrick of birdies from the 11th to the 13th and two more on the 15th and 18th with a bogey in between on the 16th saw her finish at 68Hitaashee had a bogey early on the second hole but birdies on the fifth seventh and ninth holes saw her turn in a healthy 2under 34 On the back nine she birdied the 11th and 15th and dropped a shot on the Par4 13thJasmine Shekar made a superb start with four birdies in the first seven holes but then three bogeys against one birdie between the ninth and the 13th saw her fall back A closing birdie on the 18th ensured she finished with 69 and was still close to the leaderKhushi Khanijau 71 was the sole eighth while four others including Vidhatri Urs Anvitha Narender Seher Atwal and amateur Srihita Mandava were tied ninth with scores of 1over 73 each IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2024-nayanika-takes-1-shot-lead-over-hitaashee-jasmine-in-15th-leg-584633.html Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:46:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-hitaashee-starts-big-favourite-for-final-leg-of-wpg-tour-584473.html Hyderabad Nov 19 Hitaashee Bakshi who has had a phenomenal season on the Womens Pro Golf WPG will return for the 15th and final leg of the Tour at the Boulder Hills Golf and Country Club here on Wednesday with the Order of Merit sewn up Hitaashee will face the toughest competition from Vidhatri Urs who has won three times in eight starts after having turned pro midway through the season Sneha Singh a twotime winner in 2024 and four others who have tasted victories this season will tee up this week at the Boulder Hills Golf and Country ClubThe final event of the season carries a purse of Rs10 lakhThe 20yearold Hitaashee who last week won her third title of the season has also been the runnerup on six occasions Her 13 starts in the season have therefore seen her finish in Top2 nine times The Order of Merit success has also seen her get a spot into the final Stage of the Ladies European Tour QSchool next month Already a member of the Thailand Ladies Tour Hitaashee now has her eyes set on Europe for 2025Vidhatri has also had a great season with three wins and one runnerup finish in eight starts This will be the last start for many of the girls who will figure in the Prequalifiers ahead of the final stage of LET QSchool next monthPlayers looking for a good finish before the LET qualifiers next month will include Sneha Singh Amandeep Drall Vidhatri Urs Ridhima Dilawari Seher Atwal Shweta Mansingh Jasmine Shekar and Nayanika Sanga IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-hitaashee-starts-big-favourite-for-final-leg-of-wpg-tour-584473.html Tue, 19 Nov 2024 22:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/hitaashee-takes-third-title-of-the-season-wins-14thleg-of-wpgt-583954.html Vikarabad Telangana Nov 17  Hitaashee Bakshi did not face any problems on the way to picking her third title of the season as she won the 14th leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour by four shots The 20yearold Hitaashee joined Vidhatri Urs as the only other player to win three titles this year Hitaashee who had cards of 677071 totalled eightunder 208 at the Vooty Golf Club Hitaashee took home a winners cheque of Rs 144000 which she received from Rupinder Gill General Manager Vooty Golf County Vidhatri who won three times finished second this week with a final round card of 3under 69 and total of 4under 212Shweta Mansingh 72 after 7275 on the first two days finished at 3over 219 to be the sole third Amandeep Drall 72 was tied for fourth with Ananya Garg 73Hitaashee who held a sixshot lead after 36 holes had a superb start with birdies on the first and third but after that she cooled off Yet she ensured there were not many mistakes as she bogeyed the sixth but made up with a birdie on the ninth to turn in 2under 34 On the back nine she parred eight times and closed with a bogey for a 71 her third straight underpar roundVidhatri who birdied the first fifth eighth and 15th dropped just one bogey on the third on a solid final dayShweta Mansingh had four birdies against four bogeys in a par round of 72 while Amandeep Drall also had four birdies and four bogeysKhushi Khanijau 73 and Sneha Singh 75 were tied for sixth at 6over 222 while Rhea Purvi Saravanan 72 and Nayanika Sanga 80 ended tied eighth Jasmine Shekar 71 Anvitha Narender 72 and Yaalisai Verma 75 were tied tenthThere were two eagles on the final day as Khushi Khanijau holed out her second shot on the Par4 10th and Jasmine opened the day with an eagle on Par5 firstHitaashee Rs 1579500 with a lead of over Rs three lakh has sewn up the Order of Merit ahead of Sneha Singh Rs 1270783 as Amandeep Drall and Khushi Khanijau are lying third and fourth Jasmine Shekar is fifthThe 15th and final leg of the WPG Tour is scheduled next week at Boulder Hills in Hyderabad IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/hitaashee-takes-third-title-of-the-season-wins-14thleg-of-wpgt-583954.html Sun, 17 Nov 2024 19:29:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/rory-mcllroy-seals-double-victory-at-dp-world-tour-finale-583967.html Dubai Nov 17 Rory McIlroy finished the season in style by winning the 2024 DP World Tour Championship which saw him clinch the coveted Race to Dubai championship for the sixth time After a thirdplace finish at last weeks Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship only South Africas Thriston Lawrence could deny McIlroy from claiming his sixth Race to Dubai Rankings of his careerIt means a lot Ive been through a lot this year professionally personally and it feels like a fitting end to 2024 Ive persevered a lot this year had close calls and couldnt get it done So to be able to get over the line Im really pleased with the way I finished and thankfully I hung on on a tough day and got it doneIts been a long year my 27th tournament which is a lot to me Looking forward to a little bit of downtime I have a lot of friends and my family here in Dubai so Im sure well have a good night tonight said McllroyLawrence needed to win and for the World No 3 to finish in 12th or worse for him to overturn McIlroys huge advantage but his challenge never materialised as he carded a oneunderpar total at Jumeirah Golf EstatesThe Northern Irishman shared the lead after the first and third rounds and looked in total control when he burst three shots clear thanks to a run of four straight birdies from the secondRasmus Hojgaard remained in touch and capitalised on bogeys at the ninth and 13th from McIlroy to sit alongside him at the summit at 13 under However birdies at the 16th and 18th paid dividends for McIlroy as he secured his third triumph on the Earth course by two shots to complete a seasonfinale double IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/rory-mcllroy-seals-double-victory-at-dp-world-tour-finale-583967.html Sun, 17 Nov 2024 20:15:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2024-hitaashee-doubles-lead-to-six-shots-in-14th-leg-nayanika-sanga-vidhatri-urs-in-pursuit-583781.html Vikarabad Telangana Nov 16 Hitaashee Bakshi added a 2under 70 to her firstround card of 67 to double her threeshot lead to six with one more round to go in the 14th Leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour WPGT at the Vooty Golf Club here on Saturday Winner of two titles this season Hitaashee is six shots clear of Nayanika Sanga 7172 and Vidhatri Urs 7073 the only player to have won three times this year Nayanika and Vidhatri are at oneunder 143 each Hitaashee leader on the WPGT Order of Merit will become the second threetime winner in 2024 if she holds on for a win as expected Three players Ananya Garg 7671 Shweta Mansingh 7275 and Sneha Singh 7077 are tied for fourth place at 3over 147Hitaashee who is due to play the Final Stage of the Ladies European Tour Qualifying School next month opened with five pars and then landed backtoback birdies on the sixth and the seventh She birdied the 12th but dropped a shot on the 13th and then again dropped a shot on the Par5 16th before picking a birdie on the closing 18th for a days card of 70 which equalled the best score of the day alongside Yaalisai VermaNayanika had an incredible six birdies six bogeys and six pars She did not have a single par in her first seven holes which included four birdies and two bogeys She seemed to be making good progress at 3under through 12 holes but then dropped three bogeys in the last six holes including two in the last two holesVidhatri had three birdies one bogey and a triple bogey on Par4 11th which ruined her card Shweta Mansingh had four birdies three bogeys and two doubles in her 75Amandeep Drall 7474 is sole seventh at 4over 148 while Yaalisai Verma 7970 and Khushi Khanijau 7178 are tied eighth at 5over 149 Rhea Purvi Saravanan 7675 rounded off the top ten IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2024-hitaashee-doubles-lead-to-six-shots-in-14th-leg-nayanika-sanga-vidhatri-urs-in-pursuit-583781.html Sat, 16 Nov 2024 18:59:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/jaipur-open-2024-baisoya-makes-a-grand-comeback-to-clinch-title-in-marathon-playoff-against-rashid-khan-583806.html Jaipur Rajasthan Nov 16 Sachin Baisoya made a comeback for the ages by clinching victory in a marathon playoff against Rashid Khan in the INR 1 crore Jaipur Open 2024 played at the Par70 Rambagh Golf Club here on Saturday Both the Delhibased professionals Sachin Baisoya 65656464 and Rashid Khan 64686165 ended the regulation 72 holes with identical totals of 22under 258 before locking horns in a titanic playoff tussle that lasted an astonishing five extra holes The 29yearold Baisoya finally sealed the deal with a threefeet birdie conversion following an extraordinary tee shot on the Par3 second hole Baisoya involved in his firstever playoff lifted his third career title on Saturday which earned him a prize money cheque worth INR 15 lakh thus pushing him up from sixth to fifth place in the PGTI RankingChandigarhs Akshay Sharma 67 Hyderabads Milind Soni 69 and Delhis Kshitij Naveed Kaul 70 finished in tied third place at 16under 264 Jaipurs Prakhar Asawa finished tied 43rd at threeunder 277Sachin Baisoya overnight tied third and two off the lead struck the last days jointbest score of 64 that got him into the playoff After a slow start Sachin opened his account with an eagle on the eighth and then added five birdies at the cost of just one bogey on the backnine as both his hitting and shortgame were topclass Baisoya earned his place in the playoff after a mammoth 35foot birdie conversion on the 18thRashid Khan who was overnight second and one off the lead mixed six birdies with a bogey during his 65 on Friday He found the water hazard on the 18th but made a sensational recovery with an upanddown shot to save par and make the playoff On the first four playoff holes all played on the Par5 18th hole both players were level as they matched each other shot for shot including a 35footer for par by Rashid on the first extra holeThe action then moved to the Par3 second hole for the fifth extra hole While Rashid found the bunker with his tee shot Baisoya landed it within three feet of the flag Rashids exceptional bunker shot that stopped four feet from the hole was not good enough as Baisoya sank his birdie putt from three feet to win the playoff and the titleMy strategy from the start of the last round was to just enjoy myself and give it my best After a slow start the eagle on the eighth was a huge confidence booster That set the tone for the rest of my round Baisoya saidOn the 18th in regulation play I told myself that I have just one putt to make if I want to stand a chance of winning and I made that birdie putt from 35 feet I was quite confident all through the playoff as my game plan was to just find the fairway and green and make birdie if possible otherwise continue making par and stretching the playoff which would pile the pressure on Rashid too he saidAfter Rashid found the bunker on the final playoff hole 2nd hole I knew hitting the green would be a huge advantage I then executed my tee shot perfectly as I had visualized it Im delighted to win the firstever playoff that I have been involved in Rashid and myself are good friends so we indulge in a lot of friendly banter when playing together That kept the atmosphere light through the dayI would like to thank the seasoned Mukesh Kumar who I refer to as Guruji for his valuable advice and encouragement to me over the last two days He told me Id win if I shot a sevenunder and itd be a playoff if I shot a sixunder on the final day Thats exactly how it turned out Baisoya concludedThe fivehole playoff encounter fell just short of equaling the PGTI record of six holes played in a playoff between Aadil Bedi winner and Udayan Mane back in 2020 at Tollygunge Club in KolkataArjun Prasad the leader for the first three rounds carded a 76 on day four to finish tied 14th at 12under 268Sukhraj Singh Gill who fired a holeinone on the 11th hole in round two on Thursday won himself Nissans recently updated New Magnite for his effort Sukhraj received the keys to the New Nissan Magnite from Mr Rajesh Srivastava Head Marketing and Communications Nissan India during the tournaments prize distribution ceremony on Saturday IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/jaipur-open-2024-baisoya-makes-a-grand-comeback-to-clinch-title-in-marathon-playoff-against-rashid-khan-583806.html Sat, 16 Nov 2024 21:23:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2024-hitaashee-opens-three-shot-lead-in-14th-leg-583493.html Vikarabad Telangana Nov 15 Hitaashee Bakshi the current leader on the Order of Merit got off to a flying start with a 5under 67 round on the opening day of the 14th Leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Vooty Golf County here on Friday Hitaashee who has won twice this season had six birdies against one bogey and opened a threeshot lead over Vidhatri Urs and Sneha Singh who shot 2under 70 each Three players Khushi Khanijau Nayanika Sanga and amateur Srihita Mandava carded 1under 71 each to be tied for fourth Amateur Srihita also delivered a holeinone on the Par3 eighth holeHitaashee opened the week with two birdies and added two more on the seventh and the ninth to turn in 4under On the back she dropped her only shot of the day on the tenth but made up with birdies on the 12th and the 18th for a card of 67 Vidhatri birdied four times on the first fifth 11th and 12th and had bogeys on the fourth and the sixth Sneha also had four birdies against two bogeysThere were a lot of birdies as Khushi Khanijau had five birdies but she also gave away four bogeys while Nayanika Sanga also had five birdies but she also dropped two bogeys and a double bogeyAmateur Srihita had an actionpacked round with a holeinone three birdies two bogeys and a double bogey Shweta Mansingh 72 was the sole seventh while the experienced Amandeep Drall finished with 2over 74 despite a double bogey on the Par4 18th holeAnanya Garg Agrima Manral and Rhea Purvi Saravanan rounded off the top 10 with rounds of 76 each IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2024-hitaashee-opens-three-shot-lead-in-14th-leg-583493.html Fri, 15 Nov 2024 18:22:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/jaipur-open-2024-arjun-prasad-stays-in-front-with-a-66-rashid-khan-storms-into-fray-with-61-583507.html Jaipur Nov 15 Delhibased professional Arjun Prasad searching for his maiden title kept the lead for the third day running after he carded a fourunder 66 in the penultimate round of the INR 1 crore Jaipur Open 2024 being played at the Rambagh Golf Club here on Friday The 25yearold Arjun 626466 the overnight leader by three shots took his total of 18under 192 on Friday to continue at the top with a slender oneshot leadTwotime international winner Rashid Khan 646861 of Delhi who was overnight tied 12th and six shots behind the lead returned a phenomenal nineunder 61 the weeks lowest score to progress up to second place at 17under 193 Two other Delhibased golfers Sachin Baisoya 64 and Kshitij Naveed Kaul 65 were tied for third place at 16under 194 Jaipurs Prakhar Asawa 70 the only local golfer to make the cut ended the penultimate round in tied 38th at threeunder 207Arjun Prasad converted a couple of putts from a range of 10 to 15 feet to score early birdies on the second and fifth holes He then added two more birdies on the front nine thanks to some brilliant wedge shots one of which landed a foot from the pinArjun then slowed down as a result of two missed putts from shortrange that led to bogeys on the ninth and 13th as he managed just one birdie on that stretch on the 12th Prasad then roared back with an exceptional tee shot and second shot for birdie on the 17th to retain the sole leadArjun said I just kept following the same game plan as the previous two days My hitting was decent as it gave me a lot of birdie chances After a superb frontnine Im glad I could keep the momentum going on the backnine where I was quite steady despite the birdies drying upMy wedge play stood out today as I made some good par saves with a couple of accurate chip shots and a great bunker shot Im quite happy with the way Im playing at the moment The key will be to stick to the same game plan on the final day The Rambagh Golf Club has provided us with excellent playing conditions So a big thank you to the course staff and the committeeRashid Khan who began the day in sensational fashion with birdies on the first five holes threw his hat in the ring by climbing 10 spots on the leaderboard courtesy of his flawless 61 Four of Rashids birdies came as a result of conversions from a range of 10 to 25 feet Khan also landed two of his approach shots within a couple of feet of the flag for birdiesRashid who won the last of his 14 professional titles five years back said The birdie run at the start really got my round going Had it not been for some really close birdie misses I couldve gone even lower I feel I created chances for myself all day I feel Ive been in good rhythm since last weeks event in Pune where I finished tied third IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/jaipur-open-2024-arjun-prasad-stays-in-front-with-a-66-rashid-khan-storms-into-fray-with-61-583507.html Fri, 15 Nov 2024 19:11:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2024-hitaashee-faces-tough-challenge-from-vidhatri-sneha-and-amandeep-in-leg-14-583271.html Vikarabad Telangana Nov 14 Hitaashee Bakshi who holds a comfortable lead of over Rs two lakh on the Womens Pro Golf Tour will begin as a strong favourite in 14 and penultimate event of the 2024 calendar as the season moves towards the closing stages Hitaashee who has won twice this season will face a strong challenge from Sneha Singh who has also won twice and Vidhatri Urs who in seven starts has won three times Hitaashee is slated to play in the final stage of the LET QSchool while Sneha and Vidhatri will play in a prequalifier before the final stage The other winners from the current season in the field this week are Amandeep Drall Jasmine Shekar and Anvitha NarenderHitaashee Vidhatri Sneha and Amandeep are using the domestic event to tune up for the LET QSchool as they tee up at the Vooty Golf County in Vikarabad The event carries a purse of Rs 9 lakhThe field includes two amateurs Pihoo Chauhan and Srihitha MandavaThis is the 14th leg of the Tour and one more leg is left after this Eight players have won this season and three of them Vidhatri Hitaashee and Sneha have won more than once IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/wpgt-2024-hitaashee-faces-tough-challenge-from-vidhatri-sneha-and-amandeep-in-leg-14-583271.html Thu, 14 Nov 2024 20:46:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/jaipur-open-2024-arjun-prasad-builds-on-lead-with-second-round-64-583292.html Jaipur Nov 14 Delhis Arjun Prasad built on his overnight lead with a brilliant second round of sixunder 64 at the INR 1 crore Jaipur Open 2024 being played at the Rambagh Golf Club here on Thursday Arjun Prasad 6264 the firstround leader by one shot extended his lead to three strokes at a total of 14under 126 on Thursday following a round that featured an eagle five birdies and a bogey Kshitij Naveed Kaul 6465 another Delhi golfer and last weeks winner was placed second at 11under 129 as a result of his 65 on day two that included an eagle five birdies and two bogeys Six players were placed joint third at a total of 10under 130 including Milind Soni Sachin Baisoya Ravi Kumar Mari Muthu R M Dharma and Harendra Gupta Jaipurs Prakhar Asawa 70 was the only local golfer to make the cut He was placed tied 35th at threeunder 137The cut was applied at threeunder 137 and Fifty professionals made it to the last two roundsCanadas Sukhraj Singh Gill fired a holeinone on the 11th to win himself a Nissan Magnite car Sukhrajs fiveiron tee shot found the hole However Sukhraj missed the cut after he posted a 69 to total twounder 138 Chandigarhs Aadil Bedi was the second player to shoot a holeinone on Thursday Aadils ace came on the second hole during his round of 69 Bedi too missed the cut as he totaled oneunder 139Arjun Prasad made early gains with a 15foot birdie conversion on the 11th and another birdie on the 14th The 25yearold Prasads chipin for eagle on the 17th gave further momentum to his round On his second nine Arjun added three more birdies to his card between the fourth and the eighth which included a tapinA lipout from seven feet on the closing ninth led to Prasad conceding his first bogey of the week It was another solid round I kept it in play throughout and other than the birdies I also made some good up and downs to save par on the 12th and 16th I kept it simple and stayed in the moment The eagle was quite a confidence booster for me Arjun Prasad said IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/jaipur-open-2024-arjun-prasad-builds-on-lead-with-second-round-64-583292.html Thu, 14 Nov 2024 21:28:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/amandeep-johl-appointed-as-ceo-of-professional-golf-tour-of-india-582965.html New Delhi Nov 13 The Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI announced the appointment of Amandeep Johl as its new Chief Executive Officer CEO from January 2025 The appointment comes alongside another recent significant leadership addition with the legendary cricketer Kapil Dev assuming the role of PGTI President in June this yearJohl replaces Uttam Singh Mundy who has essayed a key role in the organization since its inceptionJohl who until recently was on the PGTI board will take charge from 1st January 2025 In the interim period until 31st December 2024 he will be assisting Mundy in completing the handover processWelcoming Johls elevation to CEO Kapil Dev said Amandeep has been on the Indian and Asian golf circuit for nearly 34 years and it is just apt that somebody who is so entrenched in the sport leads the PGTI These are exciting times for golf in India and with Amandeep at the helm the PGTI looks forward to strengthening its presence in India and around the worldThe legendary cricket allrounder hailed the outgoing CEO for his contribution to PGTI and Indian golf Uttam Mundys commitment and vision have been instrumental in establishing PGTI as the premier professional golf tour in India and his contributions are deeply appreciated he saidJohl who holds a degree in mechanical engineering has been an integral part of Indian golf since making it to the junior Indian team in 1985 and four years later emerging as the National amateur champion in 1989 Since then he has worn various hats be it as a professional player on the Asian and European Tours national coach a board member of the PGTI and also as a founding member of the Asian Tour 2004I am thrilled and thank the PGTI for entrusting me with this huge responsibility remarked the 55yearold Johl It is probably the most important role of my golfing career he said adding I have big shoes to fill thanks to my dear friend Uttam Mundy who has been instrumental in laying a strong foundation for the PGTI with his untiring effortsThe 60yearold Mundy expressed confidence that the experienced Johl his successor as CEO is a good choice for the role to further build on all the gains achieved by the PGTI over the last 18 years since its inception I am happy that I pass the baton to Amandeep who brings in a lot of experience and whos passion for golf is second to none Im sure the PGTI will immensely benefit with his expertise he saidReflecting upon his stint as CEO Mundy added It has been an enriching journey for me since 2009 when I was entrusted with the responsibility of building PGTI as a brand which was still in its nascent stage considering it came into being in 2006 I would like to believe that both the PGTI and Indian golf have come a long way over the past decade and a half with major milestones being achieved by the PGTI such as induction into the International Federation of PGA Tours becoming a part of the Official World Golf Ranking OWGR system the signing of a strategic partnership with PGA Tour and DP World Tour and the exponential growth of prize money to approximately INR 25 crore this season with an average of INR 1 crore for each event IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/amandeep-johl-appointed-as-ceo-of-professional-golf-tour-of-india-582965.html Wed, 13 Nov 2024 18:29:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/jaipur-open-2024-golf-arjun-prasad-takes-lead-with-sizzling-8-under-62-in-first-round-583035.html Jaipur Nov 13 Delhi golfer Arjun Prasad shot a sizzling opening round of eightunder 62 a bogeyfree effort to take the lead in the INR 1 crore Jaipur Open 2024 being played at the Rambagh Golf Club here on Wednesday Punes Pranav Mardikar came up with a sevenunder 63 at the par70 course to be placed second Seven players including last weeks winner Kshitij Naveed Kaul Indian star Rashid Khan M Dharma Harendra Gupta Jamal Hossain Mari Muthu and Mohd Azhar were bunched in tied third position at 64 Jaipurs Prakhar Asawa carded a 67 to be the highestplaced among the local golfers as he occupied tied 23rd positionAryaman Aditya Mohan of Mumbai too shot a 67 to be tied 23rd and in the process became only the fifth player in PGTI history to make three eagles in a round following in the footsteps of Ali Sher Yashas Chandra Veer Ahlawat and Manu GandasArjun Prasads putter was on fire on Wednesday as he sank three birdie putts from 25 feet and another birdie from 12 feet The 25yearold Arjun searching for his maiden title also made a couple of quality chipputts for birdies and narrowly missed an eagle from 15 feet on the eighth Arjun said I read the lines on the greens really well and thus managed to roll in many birdie putts I must compliment the Rambagh Golf Club for providing us with excellent greensI have a strategy in place Hitting close and making putts and giving myself chances on the Par5s as well as capitalizing on the short Par3s and Par4s will be the key overall My game has been trending well over the past few weeks So I just want to keep repeating what Ive been doing recently he saidPranav Mardikar returned eight birdies in exchange for a bogey on Day One to match his personal best score of sevenunder His previous round of sevenunder was also achieved at the Rambagh Golf Club last year Pranav came really close to making a holeinone on the Par3 16th where his tee shot stopped an inch from the pin He also made four birdie conversions from a range of 10 to 20 feetPranav said I had a good ballstriking day and hit almost every ball in play I did well with the putter too I have had the momentum from last weeks event in Pune where I had a decent finish Its essential for me to capitalize on this start because Im just outside the top 60 in the PGTIs merit list at the moment and am looking to seal my card this weekI have some good memories of my round of sevenunder at Jaipur last year My shortgame has been consistent and my ballstriking has also shown up in the last two weeks he said IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/jaipur-open-2024-golf-arjun-prasad-takes-lead-with-sizzling-8-under-62-in-first-round-583035.html Wed, 13 Nov 2024 22:14:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/poona-club-open-golf-kshitij-naveed-kaul-fires-cool-confident-67-to-claim-title-581849.html Pune Nov 9 Delhis Kshitij Naveed Kaul fired a cool and confident fourunder 67 in the last round highlighted by a dramatic final hole birdie to emerge wiretowire champion at a total of 20under 264 in The Poona Club Open the INR 1 crore event which concluded at the Poona Club Golf Course here on Saturday The 23yearold Kshitij 64666767 who won on the PGTI after two years collected a prize money cheque worth INR 15 lakh to zoom 31 spots to 18th position in the PGTI Ranking It was Kauls fourth professional title and his second at the Poona Club Golf Course Karandeep Kochhar 64667065 of Chandigarh who was overnight tied third and three off the lead came up with a strong sixunder 65 on Saturday to earn the runnerup spot at 19under 265Gurugrams Veer Ahlawat 69 extended his lead in the PGTI Ranking after he finished tied third at 15under 269 Dhruv Sheoran another Gurugram golfer matched the course record with a 63 that featured two eagles to end up in a share of third place Delhis Rashid Khan 67 too finished tied for third Olympian Udayan Mane also equalled the course record of 63 as his round featured six consecutive birdies Local lad Mane thus ended the week as the bestplaced Pune golfer in tied ninth at 12under 272Kshitij Naveed Kaul who also won his maiden professional title at the Poona Club Golf Course in his rookie season in 2019 dominated the week from the outset having led from the first round till the end Kaul began the final day with a twoshot lead and was steady over the first 12 holes making birdies at regular intervals on the fifth ninth and 12th holes courtesy of his topclass driving and chipping However the script had a little twist Kaul bogeyed the 15th and birdied the 17th from eight feet even as Karandeep Kochhar got on a run making seven birdies between the third and 18th to draw level with KshitijKaul then found trouble with his tee shot on the 18th landing in the left jungle But Kshitij turned the tables with a brilliant third shot from 250 yards that stopped seven feet from the hole The sixfoot twoinch tall Kaul sank the allimportant sevenfoot birdie putt with clinical precision to seal the titleThe softspoken Kshitij said I played really well through the week and was very steady on the last day hitting most fairways and greens and making birdies wherever I got the opportunity I stayed in the moment and didnt get too ahead of myself The third shot on the 18th was special and turned out to be decisiveThe Poona Club Golf Course continues to be a lucky venue for me Its nice to always come back here a course where I have won at the professional amateur junior and subjunior levels in the past Im thrilled to have added more good memories at this venue this week My driving tee shots and putting were excellent for most of the week he saidThis win has come after quite a while for me So a huge shout out to my coach Jesse Grewal for getting my game back on track he added IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/poona-club-open-golf-kshitij-naveed-kaul-fires-cool-confident-67-to-claim-title-581849.html Sat, 09 Nov 2024 20:15:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/poona-club-open-2024-kshitij-naveed-kaul-takes-two-shot-lead-parikh-matches-course-record-on-day-3-581634.html Pune Nov 8 Kshitij Naveed Kaul of Delhi the overnight joint leader posted a solid fourunder 67 in the penultimate round to establish a twoshot lead at a total of 16under 197 at The Poona Club Open the INR 1 crore golf event being played at the Poona Club Golf Course here on Saturday Ahmedabads Varun Parikh a winner on the PGTI last month matched the course record of eightunder 63 to climb into second place at 14under 199 at the end of the third day of the event The PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawat of Gurugram signed for an errorfree 66 to move into tied third place at 13under 200 Chandigarhs Karandeep Kochhar the overnight joint leader struck a 70 on Friday that pushed him down to tied third along with Ahlawat Divyansh Dubey 66 was the highestplaced among the Punebased professionals as he was placed tied eighth at nineunder 204 Olympian and local lad Udayan Mane submitted a card of 70 to end the day in tied 25th at fourunder 209The 23yearold Kshitij Naveed Kaul 646667 a threetime winner on the PGTI made gains on the front nine thanks to three birdies coming at the expense of a lone bogey He drove the Par4 ninth green to earn a birdie with a twoputt there Kauls topnotch driving and chipping saw him claim three more birdies on the back nine in exchange for a solitary bogeyKshitij currently ranked 49th on the PGTI Order of Merit thus continued on top of the leaderboard for the third day running Kshitij who won his maiden professional title at the Poona Club Golf Course in his rookie season in 2019 said It was a nearperfect day for me barring the two short putts that I missed My short game was great especially the chipping Ive made some quality ups and downs throughout the weekMy good memories from this course are an added advantage going into the final round The key in the final round would be to keep the ball on the fairway and putt it well Im a very calm person and I havent really worked at that It comes to me naturally That always helps me in crunch situations he saidThe 26yearold Varun Parikh 676963 a twotime winner on the PGTI and currently placed 17th on the PGTI Order of Merit equalled the course record held by six other players Kapil Kumar Samarth Dwivedi C Muniyappa Chikkarangappa S S Madaiah and Vijay Kumar and jumped seven spots from his overnight tied ninth courtesy his nine birdies that came at the cost of a lone bogey Parikhs round featured five consecutive birdies from the 10th to the 14thVarun hit a couple of his iron shots within five feet for birdies while he also sank a 40footer on the 12th and drained three other putts from a range of 10 to 15 feet for birdiesThis season my mindset has been to just have fun out there and not put pressure on myself That has helped my game immensely Today also was about enjoying my round and thats exactly what Ill look to do in the final round Having a win under my belt this season also adds to my confidence Varun said I gave myself a lot of opportunities today by hitting my approach shots close and hitting almost all fairways and greens he saidHe will hope to repeat his performance on the final day of the event and hope to overcome the gap with the leader IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/poona-club-open-2024-kshitij-naveed-kaul-takes-two-shot-lead-parikh-matches-course-record-on-day-3-581634.html Fri, 08 Nov 2024 20:54:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-filipino-rico-hoey-soars-into-joint-lead-at-world-wide-technology-championship-581447.html Los Cabos Mexico Nov 8 Rico Hoey of the Philippines mastered high winds to fire an opening 5under 67 for the joint first round lead at the World Wide Technology Championship on Thursday as he seeks a maiden PGA TOUR victory The 29yearold fought his way to seven birdies against two bogeys at El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos Mexico to share the first day honours with Tom Whitney and Kevin Streelman in the FedExCup Fall tournament Defending champion Erik van Rooyen of South Africa carded a 68 to lie one backWith three Fall events remaining several Asian golfers are battling hard to end the year inside the top125 of the FedExCup Fall rankings and secure their TOUR cards for next year Koreas SH Kim who started the week ranked 122nd opened with a 78 while countryman SY Noh who is 181st returned a 71 Chinas Carl Yuan carded a 72 as he seeks to improve on his 131st positionHoey 29 arrived in Mexico without any concerns about his playing status where he is ranked 85th in what his rookie season After missing 10 cuts in his first 15 starts he has since registered four top10s including a playoff loss at the ISCO Championship and third place finish at the Shriners Childrens OpenHis first round at the Tiger Woodsdesigned El Cardonal featured a brilliant chipin birdie on 11 on blustery day where he hit all 14 fairways to cement his reputation as one of the best drivers of the golf ballI shot 1 under on the front I felt like I was hitting good shots Its just blowing so hard that any shot on the green is a great shot I caught fire on the back nine starting on 10 hit it to 12 feet and made that And then chipped in on 11 so that was pretty cool just kind of kept rolling from there said Hoey who was born in Manila but grew up in the US where he was a threetime all American at the University of Southern CaliforniaHe earned his 2024 PGA TOUR card by finishing top30 on the Korn Ferry Tour last season where he notched seven top10s including a win at the Visit Knoxville Open His first season on TOUR has allowed him to compete on many golf courses for the first time and he has found himself enjoying his trip to El CardonalI like the layout its fun theres a lot of good holes that you have to drive it well he said I just tried hitting it lower and luckily I hit the right shots Just keep sticking to the game plan listen to my caddie Brian and well go from there IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-filipino-rico-hoey-soars-into-joint-lead-at-world-wide-technology-championship-581447.html Fri, 08 Nov 2024 13:06:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/poona-club-open-2024-karandeep-kochhar-kshitij-naveed-kaul-continue-as-co-leaders-on-day-two-581294.html Pune Nov 7 Chandigarhs Karandeep Kochhar and Kshitij Naveed Kaul of Delhi continued as coleaders for the second day in succession in the INR 1 crore prizefund The Poona Club Open golf tournament being played at the Poona Club Golf Course here on Thursday Kochhar 6466 and Kaul 6466 the round one joint leaders by one shot continued in the lead at the halfway stage with totals of 12under 130 after they carded scores of fiveunder 66 in round two The PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawat and Samarth Dwivedi too returned rounds of 66 to be tied third at eightunder 134 The cut came down at evenpar 142 Fiftyeight professionals made the cutKarandeep Kochhar a 10th tee starter couldnt have asked for a better start to the day as he holed his chip from 35 yards for an eagle on the Par4 10th A couple of good iron shots and two long conversions then earned him birdies on the 13th and 16th The bogeys on the 18th and the second holes did not derail his round as Karandeep rallied with a great recovery shot over the trees to claim an eagle on the seventh Kochhar followed that up with a 15feet birdie conversion on the eighthKarandeep said Consistency was the key for me today I stuck to my game plan of hitting the driver everywhere I had a great start with the eagle that got the momentum going for me The highlight of the round was the approach shot on the seventh that led to an eagle I played to my game plan by being aggressive there Kudos to my caddie who guided me well on that shotAs this is my seventh tournament in as many weeks my back is hurting a bit So its important for me to get some physiotherapy and focus on rest and recovery he saidKshitij Naveed Kaul drove the Par4 14th green for the second consecutive day to pick up a birdie there He added another birdie thereafter but stumbled with a couple of bogeys on the 17th and third Kauls purple patch began with his outstanding bunker shot on the fifth that led to a tapin birdieKshitij who won his maiden professional title at the Poona Club Golf Course back in 2019 and has also won amateur junior and subjunior events at the same venue went on to bag an eagle with a 12feet conversion on the Par5 seventh He signed off with a flourish by following up the eagle with birdies from short range on the eighth and ninthKshitij said I just feel Im beginning to find my rhythm now after a couple of decent finishes in the last two events Ive been striking it really well and closing the day with eaglebirdiebirdie was quite a confidencebooster Ive always played well at this course and that will be an added advantage going aheadShivendra Singh Sisodia posted the days best score of 64 to jump 35 spots to be tied fifth at sevenunder 135 The three other golfers bunched in tied fifth were last years PGTI Ranking champion Om Prakash Chouhan 67 Shaurya Bhattacharya 67 and Aryan Roopa Anand 67 Pranav Mardikar 68 was the bestplaced among the Punebased professionals as he occupied tied 14th position at fiveunder 137 Local favourite Udayan Mane struck a 67 to be placed tied 22nd at threeunder 139 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/poona-club-open-2024-karandeep-kochhar-kshitij-naveed-kaul-continue-as-co-leaders-on-day-two-581294.html Thu, 07 Nov 2024 21:00:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/poona-club-open-karandeep-kochhar-kshitij-naveed-kaul-fire-64-each-for-joint-lead-580945.html Pune Nov 6 Karandeep Kochhar of Chandigarh and Delhis Kshitij Naveed Kaul fired scores of sevenunder 64 to end round one as joint leaders in The Poona Club Open an INR 1 crore event being played at the Poona Club Golf Course here on Wednesday The Delhi duo of Rashid Khan and Saarthak Chhibber produced rounds of sixunder 65 to be placed tied third Divyansh Dubey who sank two eagles during his round of 66 was the highestplaced among the Punebased professionals Divyansh shared fifth place along with Chandimandirs Chandarjeet Yadav and Bengalurus M Dharma Among the prominent names PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawat carded a 68 to be tied for 12th while local favourite Udayan Mane returned a 72 to be tied for 60thKarandeep Kochhar who was in great driving form came up with a flawless 64 on Wednesday Kochhar converted two short birdie putts on the front nine before driving the green on the par4 ninth and rolling in a 15footer for eagle there He drove to the very next green on the par4 10th to set up a twoputt for birdie there The 25yearold Asian Tour regular thereafter added two more birdies to his card including another 15feet conversionKarandeep said Importantly I was aggressive with the driver from the start and my chipping and putting were also spot on This is my seventh event in a row so the body is a bit tired but nonetheless my game has been trending in the right direction and Im quite pleased about that Its about taking advantage of the short Par4 holes at this course There are a few narrow fairways but the rough is not up so one can still be aggressive with the driver Karandeep saidKshitij Naveed Kaul made eight birdies and a bogey during his opening round The 23yearold Kshitij said I have good memories of the Poona Club Golf Course as I won my maiden professional title here in my rookie season in 2019 That was just my fifth start in my first full season as a pro Ill look to capitalize on those good memories this week IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/poona-club-open-karandeep-kochhar-kshitij-naveed-kaul-fire-64-each-for-joint-lead-580945.html Wed, 06 Nov 2024 20:45:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-pranavi-is-tied-29th-in-riyadh-579414.html Riyadh Nov 1 Pranavi Urs who got into the draw late opened with a bogey free 2under 70 that placed her T29 at the end of the first round of the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF Riyadh Pranavi who is coming off a fair season during which she has had four Top10s was Tied15th in her home event the Hero Womens Indian Open last week She started from the tenth and had one birdie on each side of the Riyadh Golf CourseDiksha Dagar was T67 at 1over 73 with three birdies and four bogeys as she also began on the tenth teeThree players shared the clubhouse lead as Charley Hull Pia Babnik and Luna Sobron each finished at sevenunderparThe LET order of Merit leader Chiara Tamburlini carded 3under 69 to be Tied17Hull came out at a blistering pace with four birdies and an eagle wrapping up her front nine of sixunderpar as she began the hunt for her first win since 2022 at this weeks Golf Saudi organized eventThe English star who has been finished in second place twice on the series this year added a further two birdies to her scorecard before walking off with a bogey on the 18thAlso in the clubhouse at sevenunderpar was Slovenian Pia Babnik winner of the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF in Jeddah in 2021 aged just 17Spaniard Luna Sobron found herself at the top of the leaderboard early in the day finishing the day at sevenunderparThere was also a holeinone early in the day as South Africas Cassandra Alexandra walked off with an ace on the sixth hole a 165yard parthreeTamburlini edges closer to make history as the first team captain to win backtoback eventsIn the team element the Ladies European Tours shining star Chiara Tamburlini led her team to equal the record of 23underpar a single day scoring record for the series After winning the team event in Shenzhen Tamburlini is keen to become the first ever captain to win successive titlesTamburlinis group is made up of AnneCharlotte Mora Mimi Rhodes and amateur Teniel Chu who contributed with an incredible 11 net birdies to the team score IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-pranavi-is-tied-29th-in-riyadh-579414.html Fri, 01 Nov 2024 23:36:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/victorious-choices-successful-debut-in-dgcl-fuels-vision-for-india-to-become-premier-golf-destination-578926.html New Delhi Oct 27 Victorious Choice marked a significant milestone as it made its debut this season in the Delhi Golf Club League DGCL Known as one of the premier golf events DGCL hosts 24 toptier teams in an atmosphere filled with rich heritage and intense competition The league showcases Indias golf talent and fosters camaraderie among players and teams from across the country Dr Dimple Joshi Director of Victorious Endeavours Pvt Ltd representing Victorious Choice expressed her thoughts on their debut in the leagueWe were the first timers here and Delhi Golf Club is one of the prestigious golf clubs in India It has 14 Arjuna Awardees to its credit and it was a great experience to take part in the DGCL We are going to do much better in the coming years Dimple told IANSEntering as newcomers Victorious Choice seized the opportunity to engage with top golfers and witness the sheer potential that Indian golf holds first handDimple also highlighted the vast potential for India to emerge as a soughtafter destination for golf tourism She said India has the potential to be one of the premier Golf tourist destinations and I believe it should be promoted as such It aligns with our governments sporting policy and Prime Minister Narendra Modis philosophy of Atithi Devo Bhava Guest is GodThe conversation emphasised that promoting India as a golf destination not only caters to international tourism but also supports national development objectives By leveraging Indias diverse and scenic golf courses India could carve a niche for itself on the international golfing mapDeveloping job opportunities and promoting Golf tourism in the country is the main focus of Victorious Endeavours she stated Beyond generating employment a robust golf tourism industry can drive infrastructural development and contribute to Indias economic growthGolfs rising cost in European countries has led many Western enthusiasts to explore Asian destinations including India for a more affordable yet luxurious golfing experience The cost of playing Golf in European countries is quite high so the Westerners are looking at Asia as a potential golfing destination Dimple explainedGiven Indias rich culture hospitality and unique golfing landscape it is wellpositioned to capitalise on this trendVictorious Choices debut at the DGCL is just the beginning of a larger vision aimed at elevating Indian golf on a global stage Through a blend of passion for the sport dedication to national development and commitment to expanding Indias tourism footprint the team envisions a bright future for Indian golf and tourism with DGCL providing a promising platform for these aspirations to flourish IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/victorious-choices-successful-debut-in-dgcl-fuels-vision-for-india-to-become-premier-golf-destination-578926.html Sun, 27 Oct 2024 22:15:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/jampk-open-2024-baisoya-bhattacharya-share-honours-after-round-one-578485.html Jammu Oct 23 The Delhi duo of Sachin Baisoya and Shaurya Bhattacharya shot scores of fiveunder 67 to share the honours in Round One of the JampK Open 2024 being played at the Jammu Tawi Golf Course JTGC in Jammu Udayan Mane Akshay Sharma Arjun Prasad and Kapil Kumar were tied for third place with scores of 68 Sachin Baisoya who finished in the top 10 in seven of the last eight PGTI events began the week with a birdie on the first hole then had a quiet spell till the eighth where he picked up a tapin birdieBaisoyas only bogey on the ninth was followed by a solid backnine where he picked up four more strokes On the back nine he made a couple of long conversions and landed his tee shot within inches of the flag for birdie on the 17thBaisoya said My recent form has been good so that gave me a lot of confidence coming into this week My tee shots were excellent today barring just two holes and that contributed to my good score on this narrow course Besides the birdies I also made two quality up and downs for pars on the third and 18th The key on this course will be to place the ball well off the teeShaurya Bhattacharya had a forgettable start as he bogeyed his first two holes the 10th and 11th However Bhattacharya rallied with four birdies on the back nine thereafter including three conversions from a range of 10 to 18 feet Bhattacharya continued the good work on the front nine by scoring three more birdies thanks to his terrific hittingBhattacharya said The fairways are narrow here at JTGC so keeping the ball in play is very important Thats what I did well today I gave myself many opportunities and the putter was hot today I didnt have the best of starts but knowing that scoring would not be easy here I told myself to create chances and just be ready to grind it out and be patient IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/jampk-open-2024-baisoya-bhattacharya-share-honours-after-round-one-578485.html Wed, 23 Oct 2024 20:46:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/haryana-open-2024-varun-parikh-edges-out-rahil-gangjee-in-classic-playoff-encounter-to-win-577942.html Panchkula Haryana Oct 20 Ahmedabads Varun Parikh edged out Bengalurus Rahil Gangjee in a classic playoff encounter to win the INR 1 crore Haryana Open 2024 played at the Panchkula Golf Club PGC here on Sunday Parikh 64716769 prevailed over Gangjee 63716770 on the fourth playoff hole to bag his second professional title after the two golfers had finished the regulation 72 holes with identical totals of 17under 271 The 26yearold Parikh who hails from the Gulmohar Greens Golf Course in Ahmedabad earned a cheque worth INR 15 lakh and thus climbed from 48th to 16th position in the PGTI RankingsDhruv Sheoran 67 of Gurugram finished third at 16under 272 while the trio of Delhis Sachin Baisoya 69 Chandigarhs Akshay Sharma 70 and Gurugrambased Veer Ahlawat 70 took tied fourth place at 14under 274 Ahlawat stretched his lead further in the PGTI Ranking as he crossed the INR 1 crore mark in the seasons earningsParikh who began the final day in second position one shot behind the leader Gangjee trailed the latter for the most part of the fourth round Parikh had a slow start as he made two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine even as Rahil made a birdie and a bogeyParikh then recovered well from the rough to make a 20foot birdie conversion on the 10th He picked up another stroke on the 11th Meanwhile Gangjee added three birdies between the 10th and the 13th to stay aheadThe tide began to turn in Parikhs favour when he sank a crucial 30footer for birdie on the 17th while Gangjee dropped a bogey on the same hole The twoshot swing meant both golfers were tied for the lead Thereafter Parikh made a clutch par putt from 10 feet on the 18th to take the match into a playoffBoth players made steady pars on the first three playoff holes On the fourth playoff hole Gangjee missed a chipputt from the back edge of the green to drop a bogey while Varun made a comfortable par to come home the championParikh who won his last pro title two years back said I was in a good mental space from the start of this week I was quite calm and relaxed Today I feel the turning point was the 17th hole where I made a 30footer for birdie That just gave me the muchneeded momentum which also helped me make that allimportant par putt on the next hole to force the playoffIm delighted to have finally crossed the line after a twoyear gap In the playoff I was striking it really well but not making the birdie putts so that was quite frustrating But I told myself to keep fighting and not let go of the intensity This positive mindset helped me to seal it at the end My driving and putting stood out through the week he was quoted as saying in a release by PGTI IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/haryana-open-2024-varun-parikh-edges-out-rahil-gangjee-in-classic-playoff-encounter-to-win-577942.html Sun, 20 Oct 2024 20:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/victorious-choice-advocates-for-road-safety-awareness-with-multilingual-campaign-577792.html New Delhi Oct 19 In a powerful blend of sportsmanship and social responsibility Victorious Choice a team participating in their debut season organized a road safety campaign ahead of the teams final game of the prestigious Delhi Golf Club League Road safety is a challenging issue The road network in India is the largest transportation network in the country and a lot of fatalities occur due to negligence We chose this topic to raise awareness and hopefully reduce the number of casualties that occur Kamal Poddar Coowner of Victorious Choice told IANSThey have always been advocates of Road Safety through the Road Safety Sports Series RSSS Road safety is an area of concern globally and impacts everybody RSSS is an attempt to use the power of sport which is a popular and healthy activity to promote Road SafetyAs part of the initiative the entire Victorious Choice team posed for a photo holding signs featuring road safety messages in multiple languages This diverse linguistic representation was designed to promote inclusivity and ensure the message reached a broader audience The teams efforts underscored their commitment to raising awareness about safe driving practices especially in a city like Delhi known for its bustling roadsThe campaign took place on the final day of the successful tournament where the Victorious Choice golf team competed with excellence embodying both sportsmanship and social consciousness Their participation in this initiative reflects their belief in using their platform for the greater goodThis unique campaign by Victorious Choice reinforces the teams mission to not only excel in sports but also to contribute meaningfully to society by promoting important causes like road safety IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/victorious-choice-advocates-for-road-safety-awareness-with-multilingual-campaign-577792.html Sat, 19 Oct 2024 18:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-kartik-singhs-performance-propels-india-to-8th-place-finish-in-nomura-cup-577676.html Hai Phong Vietnam Oct 19 Kartik Singh rounded off the week with an even par 72 and finished tenth at the AsiaPacific Amateur Team Championship The teenager had an eventful round with five birdies and five bogeys and ten pars as he totalled 2under for the week It was another fine performance and he has been justifying the faith reposed in him by the Indian Golf Union India finished eighth in the team competition as Rohit 77 and Anant Singh Ahlawat 76 were both tied 25thVietnam took the top honours in individual and team competition Nguyen Anh Minh produced an inspired performance to lead Vietnam to an historic triumph in the 30th edition of the AsiaPacific Amateur Team ChampionshipAnh Minh also had the distinction of finishing as the low individual Over the course of the four days at Vinpearl Hai Phong Anh Minh lived up to his billing as the highest rated player in the 57strong field at 84th in the World Amateur Golf RankingWith rounds of 71 67 71 and a closing 67 Anh Minh finished with a 12under total of 276 He made only three bogeys all week two on the opening day and one in round threeIn the individual standings he ended two shots clear of secondplaced Australian Declan ODonovan who closed with a sixunder 66 the best round of the week New Zealands Robby Turnbull was third on eightunder 280 followed by Japans Taishi Moto 281 and Malaysian Anson Yeo 282Staving off the challenges of traditional AsiaPacific golfing heavyweights Japan Korea Australia and New Zealand the Vietnamese trio of Anh Minh Le Khanh Hung and Ho Anh Huy wrote their names into the record books with an astounding victoryThanks to closing rounds of 67 from Anh Minh and 69 from Anh Huy Vietnam posted a finalday team score of eightunder 136 in the event in which the best two daily scores in each threeman team are counted Khanh Hung whose 69 on day three proved crucial signed off with a fiveover 77 that was not neededWith a fourday team aggregate of 20under 556 Vietnam finished three strokes clear of Japan the defending champions and 10time winners of the Nomura Cup IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-kartik-singhs-performance-propels-india-to-8th-place-finish-in-nomura-cup-577676.html Sat, 19 Oct 2024 00:34:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/canadian-pendrith-leads-at-weather-hit-shriners-open-577760.html Las Vegas Oct 19 Canadian Taylor Pendrith who had a 10under 61 on the first day only had to play six holes and stayed in the lead before the second round was halted by darkness at the Shriners Childrens Open He escaped the strong winds that hit during the day and caused a fourhour delay and battered the field Pendrith now faces a long third day 12 holes to complete the second round and however many holes in the third round as the autumn light allowsHe remained at 10under four pars a birdie and a bogey in his short day of work and led by one shot over Filipino Rico Hoey who made a 15foot eagle putt on his seventh and final holeLas Vegas resident Kurt Kitayama who had 66 on first day was bogeyfree for a 68 in the second despite gusts approaching 40 mph and low temperatures that led to players wearing sweaters and ski capsKitayama was part of the group at 8under 134 that included Doug Ghim JJ Spaun and Davis Thompson all of whom completed the second round It took Ghim eight holes before he made his first par and he wound up with a hardearned 70The start of Friday was delayed four hours when gusts approaching 50 mph made it difficult to play and caused enough safety concerns that PGA Tour officials decided to keep spectators away from the TPC SummerlinPutting wasnt much easier and no one suffered quite like Joseph Bramlett He had a 10foot birdie putt on No 1 his 10th hole of the second round and he took five putts for a triple bogey Bramlett also missed a 30inch birdie putt on ThursdayThe best round of the day belonged to Pierceson Coody who managed eight birdies in his round of 65 after opening with a 72 He was at 5under 137The 36hole cut is yet to come and it was hovering between 3under par and 2under par IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/canadian-pendrith-leads-at-weather-hit-shriners-open-577760.html Sat, 19 Oct 2024 16:08:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/dgcl-2024-bliss-golfers-beat-shiva-on-day-2-577563.html New Delhi Oct 4 Bliss Golfers showcased outstanding teamwork to beat Shiva 51 on day two of the fourth edition of the Delhi Golf Club League on Friday Team Shiva took on Bliss Golfers in the opening match of the day Bliss Golfers started off in grand style winning the first four games before Shiva pulled back with a win in game five courtesy of the duo of Lt Gen Balbir Sandhu and SP Sharma who pipped Shamsher Singh and Abhay Singh to the postBliss Golfers however carded a win in the sixth game with Vikas Anand and Harinder Bansi beating SK Nahar and Capt LS Bahl of Shiva to ensure a 51 win for their team and three points in the kittyIn the contest between The Pioneers and Victorious Choice The Pioneers registered a hattrick of wins before Gen Arun Kumar Sahni and Commodore Sanjiv Issar of Victorious Choice beat the duo of Prakash Brahma and Sachit MaitraGame five witnessed The Pioneers recover lost ground with a win and with the sixth and final game tied The Pioneers romped to a 41 win and pocketed three pointsIn the third contest Sara X Golf Code started with a win against The ATeam with Jaiveer Singh Atwal and Govindpal Singh Chawla pulling the rug from under the feet of Shalini Malik and Bharat Dhawan of The ATeamThe next game was tied but X Sara Golf Code widened their lead with wins in the third and fourth games The ATeam pulled one back with their owner Ashish Jain teaming up with Luvy Shriram to beat Raghav Bhandari and Tapan Mukherjee Sara X Golf Code however registered a win in the final game to bag three points courtesy of their 41 winIn the final clash of the day MMG CocaCola got the better of B I Luxury to annex three points MMG CocaCola started with wins in the first two games but B I Luxury pulled back courtesy of Navdeep Chopra and Diya Singh beating Kabir Juneja and Preet Singh in the third game This had little or no effect on MMG CocaCola who went on to register wins in the next three games to win 51 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/dgcl-2024-bliss-golfers-beat-shiva-on-day-2-577563.html Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:36:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/aditi-ashoks-bronze-miss-in-tokyo-olympics-was-an-eye-opener-for-everyone-says-pgti-ceo-577577.html New Delhi Oct 4 Golfer Aditi Ashok came so close to winning Indias first Olympic medal in the sport in Tokyo after finishing fourth three years ago According to the Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI CEO Uttam Singh Mundy that moment unearthed golfs potential in the country as a possible medalwinning sporting discipline He was also satisfied with the performance of the Indian golfers in the Paris Olympics and saw a lot of potential in young talents to bring laurels to the country It was fantastic I had gone to Paris for the Olympics to represent the Professional Golf Tour of India It was nice to have our players there and the campaigning was very good Mundy told IANS on the sidelines of the Delhi Golf Club League DGCLIndias representation is great all around Aditi Ashok missing the bronze in the Tokyo Olympics by a shot was actually an eyeopener for everyone including the government as well that it could be a medalearning sport Ever since then golf has been a highlight he saidA sport like golf which was not so recognised some time back is now surely on the board all across especially with the performances of all our young lady golfers professionals overseas and our male professionals its been fantastic he addedMundy highlighted Indias upward curve in golf and mentioned that Indian players can win a major title in the futureWeve got players playing on the PGA European tours Asian tours and LIV Its a great sign that so many youngsters are doing so well overall and its just a matter of time before someone actually clinches one of the majors We have players who have won titles all across Asia weve Jeev Milkha Singh who won in Japan and Europe among others and Arjun Atwal who won in the US As far as titles are concerned yes we have a number under the belt and those numbers will only increase the PGTI CEO saidYesterday Angad Cheema playing in Vizag shot 10 under par at East Point golf course which is not a Mickey Mouse course Youve to be really good to be shooting 10 under par The scores are going deep and thats a great sign for our youngsters If they can shoot those numbers playing tournaments in India in tough conditions I think its just a matter of time before they start playing well in Europe and other tough conditions he addedWhen asked about his thoughts on the DGCLs role in uplifting Indias golf culture Munday said I see the popularity of leagues in golf Leagues are played across India at all major golf courses It draws out all the corporate guys to the golf course they all have their teams and theyve their friends and clients all being part of the game Popularity is required for the sport unlike some other sports which are already popular But this is the sport which spans over 120 acres it is something you cant really see live action on all venues IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/aditi-ashoks-bronze-miss-in-tokyo-olympics-was-an-eye-opener-for-everyone-says-pgti-ceo-577577.html Fri, 04 Oct 2024 21:43:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/dgcl-2024-christies-golf-start-title-defense-with-a-bang-577393.html New Delhi Oct 3 Christies Golf began their title defense with a bang beating TeeM EDC 32 on the opening day of the fourth edition of the  Delhi Golf Club League on Thursday In the sixmatch contest Christies won the opening game but conceded the next two to TeeM EDC The fourth game was tied however Bikram Singh Captain of Christies teaming up with Sonaal Chaudhari won the fifth game to level the scores  The duo of Prem Dugal and fivetime National Champion Vikramjit Singh then outplayed Sanjay Gupta and Greesh Bindra of TeeM EDC in the sixth and final game to set up a 32 win for Christies Christies Golf were awarded three points for their winEarlier the inaugural tee shots were played jointly by the Chairman of the Tournament Committee Col Mohit Nasa Retd and 1982 Asian Games gold medallist Lakshman Singh The Ceremonial Gong to officially launch the tournament was sounded by Captain DGC Vikram Seth Partner of the League Vishal Chawla and Col Mohit Nasa RetdIn the next contest between Sterling Swingers and Eagles amp Birdies Ashish Bharatram and former pro golfer Vivek Bhandari of Sterling Swingers won the opening game against Prabhat Singh and Amit KohliSterling Swingers went 2up with a win in the second game but Eagles amp Birdies came back to win the third Not wanting to lose their advantage Sterling Swingers then stepped on the gas to record wins in the fourth and fifth games and with the final game tied romped home to a 41 win Sterling Swinger earned 3 points for the winIn the third clash of the day Twenty Fore Lions won all but one of their six games to beat Swing K Kings 51 The ball was set rolling by legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev who along with Jagdish Sharma carded a win against Anuva Saurabh and Vivek Chandra of Swing K KingsTwenty Fore Lions went on to register wins all the way up to the fifth game when Swing K Kings pulled off their first and only win with Kanishk Khullar and Vikram Kapoor beating Anuj Nahar and Dhruv Kumar of Twenty Fore Lions The winning team bagged three points for their effortIn the final encounter of the day Tee Birds took an early initiative carding a hattrick of wins in the first three games Birdie Machine staged an impressive fightback to win the fourth and fifth games but could only tie the final game Tee Birds triumphed 32 to bag three pointsWith 24 teams and 13 days of action to go in the roundrobin stage the field is very open and golf lovers are in for some scintillating golf The league being played at the historic par72 Delhi Golf Club course features 16 days of hardfought golf and will conclude in a grand finale on October 26 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/dgcl-2024-christies-golf-start-title-defense-with-a-bang-577393.html Thu, 03 Oct 2024 22:25:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-seeks-good-result-on-her-return-from-a-break-on-let-577398.html Shenzhen China Oct 3 Indias topranked star on the Ladies European Tour Diksha Dagar will return after a good break from competition The Aramco Series Shenzhen will be Dikshas first start after the Irish Open after which came a break for the Solheim Cup She missed an event in Spain and France From now Diksha will play the Aramco Series and then the new LET event in Taiwan which will be followed by the Womens Indian Open in the last week of October Diksha was third at the Womens Indian Open her best in the home OpenThis week Diksha a twotime winner on the LET has been named captain with her teammates being Moa Folke of Sweden and two Chinese players Xinyu Cao and Shaoyun DingThere will be the 36hole Team competition for the first two days meanwhile there is also the 54hole Individual strokeplay competition Diksha is the only Indian in action this week This year Diksha has had four Top10s and four more results under T20 This season she has missed only four cuts in 20 startsChinas home stars Ruoning Yin and Xiyu Lin and many others will be seen in action this week on home turf Among other favourites are Chiara Tamburlini who recorded her second Ladies European Tour LET title at last weeks Lacoste Ladies Open de FranceThe Swiss star defeated Australias Kirsten Rudgeley in a playoff in France and extended her advantage at the top of the LET Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year standings IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-seeks-good-result-on-her-return-from-a-break-on-let-577398.html Thu, 03 Oct 2024 23:40:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-indians-tee-off-early-in-asia-pacific-amateurs-kartik-credits-sai-and-igu-for-growth-577193.html Gotemba Japan Oct 2 All four Indians will be going out in the morning session for their opening round of the 2024 Asia Pacific Amateur golf here on Thursday Vedant Sirohi a secondtimer at AAC will be the first among Indians to tee off as he is playing with Bowen Chai of China and Thai Ingtawan Wangrungwichaisri at 652 am Debutant Rakshit Dahiya is with Brunei golfer Qawi Aslimon and Korean Junee Choi of Korea at 809 am Meanwhile Krishnav Nikhil Chopraa son of former India cricketer starts from the 10th tee with Chinas Zaqian Fang and Robby Turnbull of New Zealand at 714 am and Indias highest amateur Kartik Singh plays with Rayhan Latief of Indonesia and Singaporean Ryan Ang at 809 am The annual tournament which has offered one of the best prizes in amateur in the form of a place in the following years Masters at Augusta National will see 120 players from more than 35 countries in actionEstablished in 2009 the AsiaPacific Amateur Championship was established by the AsiaPacific Golf Confederation APGC The RampA and the Masters Tournament to further develop amateur golf in the AsiaPacific regionThe champion will receive an invitation to compete in the 2025 Masters Tournament and The 153rd Open while the runnersup will gain a place in Final Qualifying for The OpenDesigned in 1977 by Shunsuke Kato Taiheiyo Club Gotemba underwent a renovation in 2018 overseen by Rees Jones with consultation from Hideki Matsuyama who has twice won the Taiheiyo Masters an event on the Japan pro tour on this same hillside course which is 100 kilometres southwest of Tokyo and has great views of Mount FujiKartik Singh one of the four marquee names featured from teams other than China Korea and Japan in Wednesdays press conference got a lot of attentionHe said Last year making the cut in the Asia Pacific was definitely the highlight of the year I think my game has grown a lot in the past year and hopefully I can perform even better this yearAbout his experiences in the last 12 months Kartik said The Junior Players Championship was great playing at TPC Sawgrass against some of the best golfers in the world I played really well I played 4under for three days and came third And then the Junior Presidents Cup was also an amazing experience in Canada for the International Team and playing against the US Team some of the best junior golfers in the worldHe said he has been getting good support from the Sports Authority of India and the Indian Golf Union He said The IGU they brought me on the Indian team last year also and the government of India is also supporting me now and giving me funding for tournaments and coachingHe is now under one of the schemes which is part of TOPS The scheme is called TOPS and stands for the Target Olympic Podium Scheme set by the government of India and I am getting support through thatHe went on The focus of golf in India is increasing a lot IGU is conducting a lot more tournaments A lot of the junior and amateur tournaments are being conducted now and there are a lot more places for coaching in India And we are also getting to play on good golf coursesThe IGU President Brijinder Singh also walked with him at the practice round this week and spoke to his father about further events and coaching Brijinder who is here in Japan said We will give all our support to Kartik and any young star who shows potentialKartik is the highestranked Indian amateur at 171 Last year he made the cut and finished T57 and became the youngest player ever to make the cut at AAC IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-indians-tee-off-early-in-asia-pacific-amateurs-kartik-credits-sai-and-igu-for-growth-577193.html Wed, 02 Oct 2024 20:55:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-tour-top-stars-in-fray-as-vizag-open-returns-for-second-edition-577019.html Visakhapatnam Oct 1 Top stars like PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawat Manu Gandas Olympian Udayan Mane Rahil Gangjee Aman Raj Shaurya Binu Dhruv Sheoran and Shankar Das will be in the fray in the second edition of the Vizag Open to be held at the East Point Golf Club in Visakhapatnam from Wednesday The Professional Golf Tour of India PGTI the official sanctioning body of professional golf in India along with East Point Golf Club Visakhapatnam announced the second edition of the event from October 2 to 5 The total prize purse for the event is INR 1 croreThe prominent foreign participants in the event are defending champion N Thangaraja of Sri Lanka another Sri Lankan K Prabagaran Czech Republics Stepan Danek Bangladeshis Jamal Hossain Badal Hossain Md Akbar Hossain Andorras Kevin Esteve Rigaill Nepals Subash Tamang Canadas Sukhraj Singh Gill South Koreas Si In Kim Japans Makoto Iwasaki and American Dominic PiccirilloThe local challenge will be led by professionals S Muthu and Rahman Mehboob Shorif and amateurs Bharath Kollapudi and G Durga PrasadMSN Raju Honorary Secretary East Point Golf Club said Hosting a PGTI tournament is a great honour for our club This prestigious event showcases the highest level of professional golf in India attracting top players from across the country and fifteen other nationsWith live broadcasts on major networks such as Eurosport and ABP the tournament will reach an audience of 30 million viewers worldwide offering unparalleled visibility and further elevating our clubs reputation on the global stageThis event not only provides our club players with a unique opportunity to compete alongside professional golfers but it also includes clinics conducted by PGTI These sessions are invaluable for aspiring professionals offering insights and training that can shape their future in the sportWe are happy to share that we received an overwhelming response from players across the country for participation in previous tournaments at our club We anticipate the same enthusiastic response this year and we are committed to making this event a grand success he saidUttam Singh Mundy CEO PGTI said We at the PGTI are delighted to return to the East Point Golf Club for the second edition of the Vizag Open The tournament has been one of the most eagerly awaited on the schedule this year as the professionals had a memorable experience playing their first event at the EPGC last year and look forward to teeing it up at this magnificent venue once again We thank East Point Golf Club and all our event partners for supporting our efforts in staging this eventThe East Point Golf Club established in 1884 transformed into a championship course in February 2021 and received the Best Renovated Golf Course Award at the GIA Summit 2022 in New DelhiThe 6871yardlong Par72 EPGC is surrounded by lush green mountains reservoirs palm trees water bodies plantations and fountains and is home to very wellmaintained fairways greens tee boxes and capillary bunkers EPGC conducts many clublevel interclub and IGU tournaments throughout the year IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-tour-top-stars-in-fray-as-vizag-open-returns-for-second-edition-577019.html Tue, 01 Oct 2024 23:55:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/presidents-cup-international-team-fights-back-brilliantly-with-foursomes-sweep-to-tie-us-5-5-576375.html Montreal Sep 28 Sahith Theegala who made a winning debut with Collin Morikawa as the partner on the opening day suffered a big defeat in their second match as the International Team fought back brilliantly with a 50 sweep to tie the US 55 in Presidents Cup golf contest Theegala and Morikawa were outplayed 5amp4 by Australian veteran Adam Scott and his partner Taylor Pendrith Scott made more history by earning his 22nd point in what is an unprecedented 11th International Team appearanceA day after the US Team claimed all five Fourball matches the International Team won all five Foursome matches the first time in Presidents Cup history with multiple session sweepsHideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im sparked a stunning International Team fightback with a recordtying 7 amp 6 rout over Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in the first match of Fridays Foursomes session before Si Woo Kim and Byeong Hun An put the bow on a 50 reversal over the starstudded US Team to leave the Presidents Cup all tied at 55 at Royal Montreal Canada on FridayFollowing the American demolition job in Thursdays fourball session where the title holders won all five matches Mike Weirs International Team showed up in full force to put life back into the biennial team competitionKim a captains pick rolled in a pressurepacked 15foot par putt on the final green of the last match in front of his team and a raucous home crowd as he and An produced a 1up victory over World No 1 Scottie Scheffler and Russell HenleyCanadian stars Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes also enjoyed a 6 amp 5 win over Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau while Jason Day and Christiaan Bezuidenhout edged out Max Homa and Brian Harman 1up as the International Team bounced back brilliantly from Thursdays setback as they chase only a second Presidents Cup victoryMatsuyama a 10time PGA Tour winner and Im dovetailed brilliantly in the alternateshot format as they closed out Cantlay and Schauffele who until Friday was undefeated as a pair in Foursomes at the event The Asian stars didnt allow their opponents to win a single hole missing only two fairways and two greens through 12 holes and brilliantly made seven straight birdies to close out their matchFive losses on Thursday wasnt the result we wanted But we knew we could come back from this said Matsuyama who qualified for his sixth International Team as the topranked playerIm who won three points in his debut at Royal Melbourne in 2019 has been a livewire all week for the International Team where he mimicked the famous Gangnam dance during a practice round and also outside the team room on Thursday evening to lift his teammates spiritsSi Woo Kim and Byeong Hun An fought gallantly against Scheffler and Henley in a match which was never more than a 1up lead before holding on to a win thanks to a clutch 15foot par save at the last hole which sparked wild celebrations reminiscent of the scenes at Quail Hollow two years ago when Tom Kim holed a big putt to earn a point for the International TeamMike Weir was proud of how his men fought back after the opening session shutout Were all in this together We all had a great belief I was just so proud of the guys and how they fought as I told you guys that yesterday The guys fought That message was loud and clear to the guys said the CanadianThe International Team won three matches by at least a fivehole margin It was the first time in Presidents Cup history a team has won more than two matches by at least a fivehole margin in either a Fourball or Foursomes sessionHideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im INT defeated Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele US 7 and 6 tying the largest margin of victory in Presidents Cup history IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/presidents-cup-international-team-fights-back-brilliantly-with-foursomes-sweep-to-tie-us-5-5-576375.html Sat, 28 Sep 2024 19:43:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/telangana-golconda-masters-angad-cheema-makes-his-move-emerges-joint-leader-with-thangaraja-576403.html Hyderabad Sep 28 Chandigarhs Angad Cheema made his move on Day 3 also known as moving day by submitting a card of fiveunder 65 to gain one spot and emerge as the coleader of the Telangana Golconda Masters played at the Hyderabad Golf Association HGA here on Saturday Sri Lankan N Thangaraja the overnight leader by four shots posted a oneunder 69 in round three to share the lead along with Cheema at a total of 14under 196Kolkatas Shankar Das returned the days best score of 64 to gain 12 spots and end the day in tied third position at 12under 198 TATA Steel PGTI Ranking leader Veer Ahlawats 66 saw him rise two places to tie for thirdAngad Cheema 686365 who was overnight tied second and four shots behind leader Thangaraja came within sniffing distance of the lead early in the day thanks to his four birdies over the first six holes where he landed a couple of approach shots within three feet of the pinA bogey on the 10th couldnt halt Angads progress as his ballstriking precision continued on the Par4 14th where he drove the back edge of the green to pick up another strokeTh3 34yearold Cheema who won a title each on the PGTI and the PGTI Feeder Tour in his rookie season in 2013 grabbed the sole lead with a chipin for eagle on the 17th However a bogey on the closing 18th saw Angad drop back into the joint leadAngad currently fourth on the PGTI Order of Merit with five top 10s in the season and now looking to end his 11year victory drought said The games been good The few things that I worked on recently have helped my game There are still some areas that need to be sharpenedThe first five holes on this course are a tough stretch so picking up birdies there served as a big boost for me today I struck it really well today and kept it in play throughout I hope to continue doing the same tomorrow The course is in fantastic condition despite the heavy rains recently The HGA has done a great job to keep the course in good shape he saidFourtime PGTI winner N Thangaraja 656269 started well as he converted two short birdie putts on the first five holes A couple of missed chipputts then cost the 43yearold from Colombo two bogeys But Thangas birdie on the 13th ensured that he ended the day as joint leaderThangaraja said I struggled with the driver today and kept finding the rough I couldnt capitalize with my tee shots especially on the Par5s That made all the difference However theres still a lot of golf to be played Hopefully I can regain my lost touch in the final roundKaran Pratap Singh 67 and Saarthak Chhibber 68 were tied for fifth at 11under 199 Hyderabadbased professional Mohd Azhar 65 was placed tied 17th at sevenunder 203 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/telangana-golconda-masters-angad-cheema-makes-his-move-emerges-joint-leader-with-thangaraja-576403.html Sat, 28 Sep 2024 21:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-theegala-is-first-indian-american-in-presidents-cup-matsuyama-star-weapon-for-internationals-576016.html Montreal Canada Sep 26 Sahith Theegala will become the first American of Indian origin to tee off at the Presidents Cup this week and he is very excited about it Theegala whose father came to the USA from India and made it his home says it means a lot to him Despite him being a rookie he will play the fourball in the opening session with Collin Morikawa a twotime Major winner against Internationals Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee Coming from India his father provided the platform for him to excel he feels For sure Its pretty wild I dont think this is what my dad had envisioned when he came over to the US from India But it means the world that I know my dad is super thankful for the country and the opportunity its given him At the same time he also took that opportunity Thats the greatness of this countryThat opportunity has led to my opportunity And just to be able to give back to the country I dont necessarily see it as giving back to the country but just to play for your country and wear your colours and represent means the world he saidIt fires me up a lot to see other guys on the team who want it so bad and be so meaningful to them I know its well documented but Scottie at the Olympics winning it for the US its such a big deal Theres no bigger event than when you play for your countryIt is a little bit full circle Its very humbling and gratifying at the same time But its awesome I cant wait for my parents to be here And theyre going to soak up the whole experience just as much as I am he saidA winner on the PGA Tour and closing in on a more permanent place in the Top10 of the world Theegala was third at the FedExCup where he called a penalty on himself that cost him two shots and potentially 25 million in money That integrity won him fans around the world including India where his family hailed from before coming to the USTheegala has been talking and learning from his teammates and picking their brains He said Definitely a little bit without trying to ruin anybodys cadence of how they practice or play I dont want to bother anyone But theyve come up to me and been like dude if you have any questions I dont care what its about please ask Rather have you ask than keep it insideMeanwhile the Internationals will look up to Japans Hideki Matsuyama as their star player Hes an assassin said Australias debutant Min Woo Lee who with Adam Scott plays Morikawa and Theegala in the first fourball sessionAfter Aussie veteran star Scott who will be making a record 11th appearance for the International Team Matsuyama who won twice on the PGA TOUR this season and the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics is the secondmost capped International player in the biennial competition which the United States Team has dominated since 1994 The US has won the last nine editions lost once in 1998 and both teams shared the Cup in 2003I just have so much admiration for what he does the pressure he deals with playing for all of Japan as their greatest player ever I think You know he is the master said Scott who took Matsuyama under his wing in 2013 when the Japanese star made his Presidents Cup debutMatsuyamas importance to the International Teams quest to turn the tide against a powerful US Team led by World No 1 Scottie Scheffler and this seasons twotime major winner Xander Schauffele was evident when Weir paired him up alongside local hero Corey Conners in the fifth and final match against Patrick CantlaySam Burns in the opening Fourball session on ThursdayScott the oldest player this week at age 44 is tired of losing to the Americans and knows he and the likes of Matsuyama and countryman Jason Day must lead from the front at Royal Montreal Day teams up with Koreas Byeong Hun An in the top match against Xander SchauffeleTony Finau while Scott will pair up with Min Woo Lee to take on Collin MorikawaSahith Theegala IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-theegala-is-first-indian-american-in-presidents-cup-matsuyama-star-weapon-for-internationals-576016.html Fri, 27 Sep 2024 00:08:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-womens-indian-open-to-begin-from-oct-24-in-gurugram-576169.html New Delhi Sep 27 Indias premier womens golf tournament Womens Indian Open with a prize pool of USD 400000 is scheduled to take place from October 24 to 27 at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram This years tournament will showcase a starstudded lineup including seven winners from the current Ladies European Tour LET season alongside other top international playersThe tournament founded in 2007 will also see a strong challenge from Indian players aiming to build on their impressive performance in the 2023 edition where three Indian golfers finished in the top 10The notable players who have already been confirmed include three former champions Christine Wolf 2019 Camille Chevalier 2017 and Caroline Hedwall 2011 Additionally winners from the 2023 and 2024 seasons are expected to join alongside Indias top playersThe list of past champions includes legendary names such as Laura Davies and Yani Tseng the winner of the inaugural event in 2007 who later became World No 1Other prominent names competing in the Womens Indian Open 2024 include a talented trio from England Annabel Dimmock KPMG Womens Irish Open champion Alice Hewson VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open winner and Amy Taylor Ladies Italian Open victor Also joining the field are Perrine Delacour from France Dormy Open Helsingborg Belgiums Manon De Roey Investec SA Womens Open champion Swiss player Chiara Tamburlini Joburg Ladies Open winner and Shannon Tan from Singapore Magical Kenya Ladies Open championKavita Singh president Womens Golf Association of India said Each successive year just gets better While our girls continue to shine overseas several of them featuring in the Top 10 and even recording podium finishes the news back home is equally encouraging The domestic Tour continues to grow and flourish with many more girls now attracted to the Sport The new crop of girls is extremely talented and hungry for success The improvement in their focus and technique is clearly visible and augurs well for their future as they get ready to compete on the international stageAlexandra Armas CEO Ladies European Tour said The Womens Indian Open has become a staple on the LET schedule and is an event our players continue to look forward to year on year We cant wait to return to DLF GampCC a topquality venue which earlier this year received the Best Course Conditions accolade at the inaugural Ladies European Tour AwardsSanjay Bhan Executive Vice President of Hero MotoCorp said The Hero Womens Indian Open is not only Indias flagship event but a key part of the Ladies European Tour LET calendar We are proud to witness the tournaments global reputation grow with each edition We applaud the Womens Golf Association of India WGAI for their exceptional work in promoting womens golf in India and are thrilled to continue our longstanding partnership with LETIn 2016 Aditi Ashok made history as the first Indian to win the Womens Indian Open Amandeep Drall came close to replicating this achievement in 2022 finishing tied for second place The following year Diksha Dagar one of only two Indians to have won on the Ladies European Tour alongside Aditi secured a thirdplace finishOf the tournaments sixteen editions fourteen have been held at the DLF Golf and Country Club which also hosts a domestic womens pro event and the Indian Open for men on its iconic Gary Playerdesigned coursePlayers from 11 different countries have claimed the Womens Indian Open title with Thailand standing out with four victories Thailands Pornanong Phatlum holds the record for the most wins with three victories in 2008 2009 and 2012 No other player has won the tournament more than once IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-womens-indian-open-to-begin-from-oct-24-in-gurugram-576169.html Fri, 27 Sep 2024 18:19:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/in-form-pranavi-tvesa-in-the-field-for-french-open-ladies-golf-575909.html Deauville France Sep 26 Pranavi Urs will head the Indian challenge with Tvesa Malik also in the fray at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France A total of 96 players from 29 nations will tee up at the Diane Barriere course at Golf Barriere The 54hole tournament with a purse of 375000 euros will see the Top60 make the cut after 36 holes and play the weekendLast week Pranavi had a stunning 6under 66 her careerbest round on the Ladies European Tour while finishing seventh Tvesa finished T57 after four rounds Pranavi is 24th on the Order of Merit while Tvesa making a comeback is 47th The top Indian is Diksha Dagar at 18 and she is taking a twoweek breakMultiple winner on the womens Pro Golf Tour Pranavi is playing with Emma Spitz of Austria and Pauline RoussinBouchard of France who is having a good season Tvesa also on a winner on WPGT will go out with Sara Byrne of Ireland and Lily Humphrey Mays of England They are both in the afternoon sessionSwedens Johanna Gustavsson returns to defend her Lacoste Ladies Open de France crown After several close calls the popular Swede secured her maiden Ladies European Tour LET title in 2023 winning by three shots in Deauville to the delight of her peersBack at Golf Barriere 12 months on Gustavsson without a caddie last time out is once again going solo as she strives to go back to basics and ignite her joyful spark She is currently 30th in the Order of MeritGustavsson led by one shot heading into the final round in 2023 after backtoback rounds of 66 5 A wonderful 65 6 on Saturday then saw the Swede secure a threeshot victory over compatriot Moa Folke to hoist the famous trophy She is making her 150th LET appearance this weekGustavsson is playing alongside Swedens Sofie Bringner and Thailands Trichat CheenglabA player to watch will be Helen Briem days after making headlines in Spain She was her usual calm and collective self ahead of the Ladies Open de France as she looks towards a sixth win of the seasonThe year has been nothing short of remarkable for the 19yearold German who made history earlier this month when she landed a fourth LET Access Series LETAS title of the year at the Rose Ladies Open Thats the most ever in one calendar year on the feeder circuitBriem made even bigger headlines last week when she secured her Ladies European Tour LET card in style by winning the La Sella Open in Alicante Brilliant Briem fired a bogeyfree final round of 66 6 to La Sella OpenShe pipped French star Pauline RoussinBouchard to the title With the victory Briem moves into the LET winners category giving her access into all events for the remainder of the season IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/in-form-pranavi-tvesa-in-the-field-for-french-open-ladies-golf-575909.html Thu, 26 Sep 2024 15:41:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/jasmine-ridhima-tied-for-lead-in-13th-leg-of-wpg-tour-575947.html Gurugram Sep 26 Jasmine Shekar faltered in the second round but kept a share of the lead with the steady Ridhima Dilawari in the 13th Leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Golden Greens Golf Club Jasmine shot 76 and Ridhima carded 73 with one bogey and 17 pars The lead duo was 2under 142 each and one shot clear of Sneha Singh 7370 and Amandeep Drall 7271 at 1under 143Amateur Anvvi Dahhiya 7371 and Order of Merit leader Hitaashee Bakshi 7173 were tied for fifth place at even 144Jasmine looking for her first win after two runnerup finishes over the last 18 months had just one birdie against three bogeys and one double bogey on the Par4 sixth holeRidhima did not find the birdies but did well to limit the bogeys to just one on the Par4 17th While Jasmine is seeking to end her runs of near misses Ridhima is seeking her first win since 2002 the year she won twiceSneha Singh looked like making a big surge with three birdies on the front nine of the course but dropped two bogeys against one more birdie on the back nine for a round of 2under 70 which was the best of the dayAmandeep Drall landed one of the two eagles on the second day in her card of 71 which also had two birdies one bogey and one double bogey Hitaashee Bakshi had a round with one birdie against two bogeys as she missed a lot of chancesGaurika Bishnoi who had an eagle against four bogeys in her 74 was seventh at 1over 145 while Shagun Narain 7671 was eighth at 3over 147 Three players Vidhatri Urs 7177 Khushi Khanijau 7375 and Kriti Chowhan 7771 were tied ninth at 4over 148The cut fell at 155 and 28 players made the cut for the final round IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/jasmine-ridhima-tied-for-lead-in-13th-leg-of-wpg-tour-575947.html Thu, 26 Sep 2024 17:38:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-hitaashee-looks-to-make-up-as-vidhatri-seeks-4th-win-in-leg-13-of-wpgt-575569.html Gurugram Sep 24 Hitaashee Bakshi who lost in a playoff last week in the previous leg will seek to make up in the 13th Leg of the Womens Professional Golf Tour WPGT which gets underway at the Golden Greens Golf Club this week A double winner this season Hitaashee lost to Vani Kapoor at the DLF Golf and Country Club At the same time Vidhatri the threetime winner this season is seeking a fourth title after being third last weekThis week Hitaashee will contend with threetime winner Vidhatri Urs who finished third last week The other top contenders will include Gaurika Bishnoi Ridhima Dilawari Amandeep Drall Neha Tripathi Sneha Singh Shweta Mansingh and Seher Atwal The Rs14lakh event will see 41 players including five amateursThe event assumes a lot of importance as this is the last event ahead of the flagship event the Hero Womens Indian Open to be held next month The HWIO is the only Ladies European Tour event in the region The event will see an ongoing battle for the Hero Order of Merit honours between Hitaashee the current leader and Sneha Singh the winner in 2023 Close behind them is Amandeep Drall who seeks to rediscover the form that saw her finish runnerup at the HWIO in 2022Hitaashee and Sneha have won twice each this season while Amandeep has won once Only Vidhatri has three wins in the 12 legs held so far Gaurika Bishnoi and Anvitha Narender are among the other winners from this season who will be seen in action this week Ridhima and Seher are just back from Spain where they played at the La Sella Open and will be hoping to use that experience at the Golden Greens Golf ClubAmong the amateurs the one to watch out for will be Anvvi Dahhiya who was fourth in the 12th Leg last week The other amateurs are Nandita Kumar Janneya Dasanniee Alysha Dutt and Prarthana Khanna IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-hitaashee-looks-to-make-up-as-vidhatri-seeks-4th-win-in-leg-13-of-wpgt-575569.html Tue, 24 Sep 2024 22:30:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/thrilled-and-speechless-horschel-pips-mcilroy-to-win-bmw-pga-championship-575229.html Wentworth Sep 23 American Billy Horschel lifted the BMW PGA Championship for the second time in his career after seeing off Thriston Lawrence and Rory McIlroy in a thrilling playoff at Wentworth Club The 2021 champion had been a picture of consistency at the famous Surrey venue carding four rounds in the 60s including a careerbest seven straight birdies on SaturdayThe American who nearly holed out his third shot at the parfive last ended with a birdiebirdie finish to climb alongside Lawrence and McIlroy at 20 under before the trio returned to the 18th tee for the playoffThe South African blinked first after a wayward teeshot and then found the fairway bunker and water to be the first eliminated as McIlroy and Horschel calmly rolled in birdies to force a second extra holeThey both found the green in two before McIlroy narrowly slid by his eagle effort before Horschel holed a stunning eagle putt of his own to win the Rolex Series event for the second time in four yearsEnglish pair Matthew Baldwin and Aaron Rai finished in a tie for third at 17 under par with 2013 BMW PGA Champion Matteo Manassero who continued his career renaissance with an impressive week at Wentworth Frenchmen Ugo Coussaud Antoine Rozner and Dane Niklas Norgaard were then one shot further backMcIlroy remains out in front in the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex with Lawrence and Horschel now his closest challengers for the seasonlong honoursHorschel said My heart was pounding on the last couple shots the last couple holes and especially in the playoff but its always fun being in those situations Thats what we work so hard for Thats what Ive worked so hard for and thats what Ive always wanted to be in situations like that going against the best players in the world and hopefully be able to come out on top on the day I was able to nip Rory and Thriston and come away with the victoryFeels amazing Im excited Im thrilled Im speechless I cant put into words you know how this what this moment means to me and it still hasnt actually sunk in but yeah I mean it was a special special tournament that I love to death and to come out as a twotime champion you know Im just over the moonYeah hes Rory a really good friend We go back to Walker Cup in 2007 our headtohead days I think the world of him I think hes the best player in our generation Hes done so much for the game You see the support he has hereMcIlroy added I mean you know last week was a tough one This one but I left there with my head held high with the way I played the last hole trying to make three and then yeah I mean played the playoff holes perfectly really a couple of birdiesBut it just shows the standard out here If you slip up just a little bit or dont make a birdie on a crucial hole someone is always waiting to take advantage of that and look I had my chance in regulation Had a really awkward yardage for my second Tried to turn a fouriron over I mean I was lucky that it didnt go in the water Still got upanddown to win in regulation but I was pretty lucky the ball stayed up and I could make par and get into the playoffTwo weeks in a row Ive played well Just not quite well enough But you know happy with where my game is and happy where its trending Ive got a week off here and then get back at it in the Dunhill in a couple weeks IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/thrilled-and-speechless-horschel-pips-mcilroy-to-win-bmw-pga-championship-575229.html Mon, 23 Sep 2024 14:12:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-four-indians-including-tvesa-pranavi-tee-off-in-spain-574283.html La Sella Golf Resort Spain Sep 18 Four Indian women including Tvesa Malik Pranavi Urs Ridhima Dilawari and Seher Atwal will tee off at the La Sella Open at the La Sella Golf Resort as the Ladies European Tour The LET resumes action after a break due to the Solheim Cup Indias top star Diksha Dagar is taking a twoweek break from the European sojournAll four Indians are winners on the domestic Hero WPGT However Tvesa and Pranavi have shown better form and will be looking to build on ahead of the Hero Womens Indian OpenRidhima will go out with April Angurasaranee of Thailand and Emily Penttila of Finland while Tvesa Malik plays with Blanca Fernandez of Spain and Tiffany Chan of Hong KongPranavi Urs tees off with Dorthea Forbrigd of Norway and Agathe Sauzon of France from the first tee as will Ridhima Dilawari with Linda Osala of Finland and Kim Metraux of SwitzerlandA field of 132 players will be teeing it up with a cut to the top 60 professionals and ties at the end of the second roundDefending champion Nuria Iturrioz returns to the tournament where she won her fourth LET title in 2023Iturrioz is one of 15 Spanish players in the field this week she is joined by fellow LET winners Marta Martin Ana Peláez Trivino Carmen Alonso and Maria HernandezThe field includes former LET Order of Merit winners Trichat Cheenglab of Thailand and LeeAnne Pace of South Africa are in the fieldNine winners from the 2024 LET season are in town including Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year leader Chiara TamburliniEnglands Annabel Dimmock won her last start at the KPMG Womens Irish Open and will be hoping to continue her form Germanys Helen Briem is an invite this week and the teenager has already made history winning four times on the LET Access Series in 2024 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-four-indians-including-tvesa-pranavi-tee-off-in-spain-574283.html Wed, 18 Sep 2024 21:03:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-theegala-finishes-seventh-as-kizzire-wins-procore-championship-573755.html NAPA USA Sep 16 IndianAmerican golfer Sahith Theegala was unable to find that extra zip on the final day and shot even par 72 that sufficed only for a tiedseventh place at the Procore Championship the FedExCup Fall seasons opening event Theegala the winner last year closed with a 72 to tie for fifth at 12under 276 He shot 69666972 and was 12under 276 finishing eight shots behind the winner Patton KizzireKizzire meanwhile returned to the winners circle after a long gap shooting a scrambling 2under 70 for a tournamentrecord fivestroke victory Kizzire had gone 176 events without a victory after winning events in Mexico and Hawaii in two months in late 2017 and early 2018The 38yearold earned a PGA TOUR card for the next two years after entering the event 132nd in the fight to earn a card with a top125 finish in the standings He also gets spots in the Masters and PGA Championship and The Sentry at KapaluaKizzire finished at 20under 268 On Sunday he repeatedly misfired off the tee for a second consecutive day but stayed steady with his approach shots and had three birdies an eagle and three bogeysDavid Lipsky was second after a 71 Patrick Fishburn 71 was third at 14under Mackenzie Hughes 72 Ben Silverman 71 and Greyson Sigg 72 were another stroke back IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-theegala-finishes-seventh-as-kizzire-wins-procore-championship-573755.html Mon, 16 Sep 2024 17:24:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-theegala-sixth-at-halfway-stage-in-procore-champs-573346.html Napa California Sep 14 Sahith Theegala trying to defend the title he won last year roared into form in the second round with a 6under 66 to go up to sixth in the Procore Championship Theegala is four shots behind the leader Patton Kizzire 6665 at 13under on the Silverado course in Napa Valley wine countryKizzire shot a 7under 65 for a onestroke advantage over David Lipsky 6567 at 12under Kizzire had seven birdies six on the back nine as he seeks his first victory on the PGA TOUR in six years Kizzire had a 13under 131 totalLipsky the firstround leader had a 67 that included eight birdies an eagle three bogeys and a double bogey Patrick Fishburn was 11under after a 65 He had six birdies and an eagle to overcome a bogey on his 17th holeMatt Kuchar and JJ Spaun were 10under Theegala was four shots back after a 66Theegala who played with Wyndham Clark and Max Homa opened with a birdie but gave that back on the second It was his only bogey of the day as he birdied fourth eighth 13th and the 15th He closed with further birdies on the 17th and the 18thTwotime tournament champion Max Homa failed to make the cut Presidents Cup International team captain Mike Weir 2020 tournament champ Stewart Cink and Wyndham Clark also dropped outTheegala is bidding to become the third player to win the Procore Championship in backtoback seasons since the event moved to Silverado Resort in 2014 The others were Brendan Steele in 201617 and Max Homa 202122 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-theegala-sixth-at-halfway-stage-in-procore-champs-573346.html Sat, 14 Sep 2024 17:18:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/hitaashee-stays-on-top-as-vidhatri-becomes-3-time-winner-on-hero-wpgt-in-2024-573422.html New Delhi Sep 14 Hitaashee Bakshi held onto her lead on the Hero Order of Merit after 11 Legs of the Hero Womens Pro Golf Tour but the star has been Vidhatri Urs who with three wins in the last three legs has become the most successful this season Vidhatri who has played only five of the 11 legs is lying seventh as Hitaashee Bakshi who has played 10 off the 11 legs is on topThe top three Hitaashee Rs 1199500 Sneha Singh two wins and Rs 1041500 and Amandeep Drall 1 win and Rs 1008640 have crossed the Rs 10 lakhmark in terms of prize moneyThe players who have been benefitting from the Tour were pleasantly surprised by the presence of Dr Pawan Munjal Chairman Hero MotoCorp a keen golfer and one of the biggest supporters of the gameSeven players including one amateur Nishna Patel have won the 11 Legs so far with Vidhatri having done so three times in five starts while Hitaashee and Sneha have won twice Anvitha Narender Amandeep Drall and Gaurika Bishnoi have won once each and amateur Nishna Patel won onceThe Tour which began about 15 years ago with four players now regularly features 4550 players including amateurs many of whom plan to turn professional in the next few monthsAfter Hitaashee Sneha and Amandeep on the Order of Merit the next three are Khushi Khanijau Jasmine Shekar and Gaurika Bishnoi Vidhatri Urs is seventh and Seher Atwal eighth with Shweta Mansingh and Rhea Jha rounding off the Top10The 12th and the 13th Legs will be held later this month and the Hero Womens Indian open the only Ladies European Tour in South Asia will be held in October IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/hitaashee-stays-on-top-as-vidhatri-becomes-3-time-winner-on-hero-wpgt-in-2024-573422.html Sat, 14 Sep 2024 21:49:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/vidhatri-overcomes-wet-conditions-to-win-third-straight-title-in-11th-leg-of-wpgt-573158.html New Delhi Sep 13 Vidhatri Urs handled the wet and soggy conditions to complete a hattrick of wins as she won the 11th Leg of the Hero Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Delhi Golf Club Vidhatri who won the ninth and 10th legs of the Tour added a third title as she scored 1under 35 on yet another day hit by inclement weather when the final round was reduced to nine holes The second round had also been reduced to nine holes because of weatherVidhatri took no chances as she played smart golf in challenging conditions and parred the first seven holes before finding a birdie on the Par5 eighth She parred the final hole to finish with 35 and scores of 673435 for a total of 136 after 36 holesHitaashee Bakshi who has been in good form this season also had one birdie and eight pars in her 9hole round of 35 With 7037 on earlier two days she totalled 142 and finished six shots behind the winnerSneha Singh had one birdie and one bogey in an even par 36 and totalled 143 with 723436Experienced Amandeep Drall 743635 was fourth at 146 as amateur Anvvi Dahhiya 743736 at 147 and Tvesa Malik Sandhu 713838 were tied for fifthSeher Atwal had a holeinone on the Par5 and carded even par 36 and with a total of 149 she was tied seventh with amateur Mannat Brar 773834Gauri Karhade Ridhima Dilawari and Shweta Mansingh were tied for ninth place at 150 Four amateurs Zara Anand Yogya Bhalla Keya K Badugu and Janneya Dasannjee were tied for 12th place IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/vidhatri-overcomes-wet-conditions-to-win-third-straight-title-in-11th-leg-of-wpgt-573158.html Fri, 13 Sep 2024 23:40:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-vidhatri-stretches-lead-to-six-shots-as-round-2-is-cut-to-9-holes-in-wpgt-572790.html New Delhi Sep 12 Vidhatri Urs extended her threeshot lead to six shots even as play was cut down to nine holes in the second round of the 11th Leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Delhi Golf Club Vidhatri started almost two hours later than her original tee time as play was pushed back on account of the weather and forecast of heavy rain and wet conditions She opened with a bogey on Par5 first but birdied the second fifth and seventh for a 2under 34 that took her 27hole total to 7under 101Sneha Singh who has qualified for the second stage of the LPGA Qualifying School had two birdies and no bogeys as she also shot 2under 34 and went up to 1under 107 where she had the company of Hitaashee Bakshi who slipped to 1over 37 with one bogey and no birdiesWith birdies tough to come by Tvesa Malik Sandhu carded 2over 38 with two bogeys and was fourth at 1over 109 for 27 holesShweta Mansingh had one birdie but also dropped three shots for a 38 and was sole fifth at 1over 110Amandeep Drall 7437 and Anvvi Dahhiya A 7437 were tied for sixth place at 111 while Ridhima Dilawari 7736 was tied eighth with Seher Atwal 7340 at 113Three players all amateurs Janneya Dasannjee Kashika Mishra and Keya Badugu were tied for tenth placeThe cut fell at 13over 121 and 35 players made the final roundPlay was delayed by almost two hours in the morning and with weather looking bad the organisers decided to cut the second round to nine holesThe play which was due to start at 750 am finally began at 945 am but the organisers felt there was no way they could play full 18 holes The wet conditions made it challenging and it was also raining during play IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-vidhatri-stretches-lead-to-six-shots-as-round-2-is-cut-to-9-holes-in-wpgt-572790.html Thu, 12 Sep 2024 23:27:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-strong-field-to-challenge-hitaashee-tvesa-sneha-in-11th-leg-of-wpgt-572233.html New Delhi Sep 10 The cream of Indian womens golf will be back in action as the Hero Womens Pro Tour resumes with the 11th Leg at the Delhi Golf Club The field is huge with 46 players and the purse is a handsome sum of Rs14 lakh Led by the leader on the Order of Merit Hitaashee Bakshi and last years No 1 Sneha Singh the field includes almost all the stars barring Diksha Dagar Pranavi Urs and Vani Kapoor who have opted to rest before playing on the Ladies European Tour later this monthHitaashee and Sneha will need to contend with proven names like Tvesa Malik Sandhu Amandeep Drall Ridhima Dilawari Neha Tripathi and Seher Atwal all of whom have international experience and aspirations of going on to the LET and furtherWhile the Tour resumes after a gap of almost six weeks the players have been playing in international events and some other domestic ProAms Sneha Singh who went to the United States has qualified for the second stage of the LPGA Qualifying while Hitaashee has been playing in South East Asia and was third at the Singapore Ladies MastersThere are as many as nine amateurs and they are led by teenaged Zara Anand who was recently T10 at the Junior Asia Pacific Championships in Manila Her teammate Keerthana Rajeev is also in the fieldThe top amateur is Mannat Brar who created history by becoming the first Indian to qualify for the semifinals of the RampA Juniors in United Kingdom She is also the current the All India Ladies Amateur champion and she beat Zara in the finalThe competition will be keen as the flagship event in India the Womens Indian Open is scheduled next month and the top stars from the domestic Tour will get a spot in this prestigious event which is cosanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and the Womens Golf Association of India IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-strong-field-to-challenge-hitaashee-tvesa-sneha-in-11th-leg-of-wpgt-572233.html Wed, 11 Sep 2024 00:16:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-searching-for-a-hat-trick-vidhatri-takes-3-shot-lead-in-leg-11-of-wpgt-572501.html New Delhi Sep 11 Vidhatri Urs began her quest for a hattrick of wins on the Womens Pro Golf Tour WPGT with a flourish as she shot 5under 67 in the first round of Leg11 at the Delhi Golf Club Vidhatri who won the last two legs the ninth and the 10th in July showed that her form had not slipped in the sixweek gap She was 6under and then dropped a bogey on the 18th for 67 as she led Hitaashee Bakshi 70 by three shotsTvesa Malik Sandhu who landed the only eagle of the day carded 1under 71 for the third underpar score of the dayWith a field of 46 the strength of womens golf was in full play at the Hero WPGT Leg11 as four players shot par or better and another three were oneover at the challenging course It all augurs well for the Indians who will hope to make a big move at next months flagship event the Hero Womens Indian OpenShweta Mansingh was unlucky to be struck by a double bogey on the 18th but scored even par and indicated that she is ready to make a move for a winThree players Sneha Singh Seher Atwal and amateur Keya Badagu shot 1over 73 each to be tied fifth while another amateur Anvvi Dahhiya and the experienced Amandeep Drall carded 74 each to be tied eighthVidhatri opened with a birdie added a second one on the eighth and turned in 2under On the back nine at the iconic DGC she birdied the 12th 14th 16th and the 17th to get to sixunder Then came the bogey on 18th but it was a great days workHitaashee had four birdies three on the front nine and another on the back stretch She had two bogeys on the third and the 13thTvesa who has been getting into form ahead of the Indian Open had an eagle two birdies and two bogeys in an eventful front nine of 2under 34 She bogeyed the 10th and parred the rest for a 71Shweta had four birdies two bogeys and a closing double for a 72Four players amateur Kashika Misra Kriti Chowhan Oviya Reddi and Agrima Manral shot 75 each to be tied tenthAmateur Mannat Brar Ridhima Dilawari and Neha Tripathi carded 77 each to be T22 while amateur Zara Anand shot 78 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-searching-for-a-hat-trick-vidhatri-takes-3-shot-lead-in-leg-11-of-wpgt-572501.html Wed, 11 Sep 2024 20:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/indian-american-theegala-picks-up-75m-as-third-in-fedexcup-as-scheffler-grabs-title-570152.html Atlanta USA Sep 2 Indian American Sahith Theegala who stunned the world by calling a twoshot penalty on himself a day earlier finished a brilliant third in the FedExCup golf tournament which ended with the Tour Championship He took 75m his highest pay cheque ever for his effort Meanwhile Scottie Scheffler won golfs biggest prize with a 4under 67 for a fourshot victory over Collin Morikawa to capture the FedExCup and its 25 million prize the richest in golfMorikawa the No7 seed started the tournament with a 4under start which was also six shots behind Scheffler With 66636766 he had the lowest 72hole score of the Tour Championship at 22under 262 He was 26under including his 4under startSahith Theegala who called a twoshot penalty on himself Saturday for possibly brushing a small amount of sand on a bunker shot closed with a 64 He started at 3under and his rounds of 67666664 saw him finish with a 72hole total of 263 and he was 21under for four rounds second best only to Morikawa He finished with 24under including his 3shot startAs Scheffler took 25 m Morikawa took 125 million for finishing second and Theegala earned 75m in the FedExCup In terms of only the 72hole total Theegalas 72hole total was 21under the second best to Morikawas 22under Scheffler who started at 10under was 20under for his four rounds and his total was 30underThe other Indian American Akshay Bhatia who started the event at 2under carded 70697171 for an overall total of 5under and was 26th while IndoBritish Aaron Rai who started at even shot 66707270 to be 6under and T23Schefflers 2024 season was the biggest year in golf in almost two decades since Tiger Woods set his amazing standards by winning eight times in 2006 including six wins in a row and two majors all while dealing with the death of his father Schefflers eight wins included the Masters THE PLAYERS Championship an Olympic gold medal and the TOUR Championship that enabled him to finally claim the FedExCup Schefflers seven PGA TOUR titles are the most since Woods in 2007This weeks success pushed Schefflers season earnings including bonuses to just under 623 million though the 25 million FedExCup prize is unofficial as is the 8 million he received from the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 for leading the regular season His season earnings of 29228356 represented about 92 of the total purse from tournaments he played Woods won about 116 of the total prize money in tournaments he played during 2000 still regarded as one of the greatest seasons everIt has been one of the most dramatic years for Scheffler With his seven PGA Tour wins the Olympic gold and the Masters Green Jacket apart he enjoyed the birth of his first child and endured the bizarre arrest in Louisville Kentucky before the second round of the PGA ChampionshipThis is a challenging week Scheffler said at the trophy ceremony Im exhausted right now IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/indian-american-theegala-picks-up-75m-as-third-in-fedexcup-as-scheffler-grabs-title-570152.html Mon, 02 Sep 2024 21:03:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-indian-americans-theegala-bhatia-and-indo-brit-rai-qualify-for-tour-championships-569246.html Castle Rock USA Aug 28 Despite modest finishes Indian Americans Sahith Theegala 7k6 and T48 and Akshay Bhatia 77 and T45 qualified for the seasonending Tour Championship Also making the Top 30 was IndoBritish Aaron Rai 74 and T43 Theegala is seeded 11th Bhatia is 13th and Rai is 26th for the Tour Championships where Scottie Scheffler is the top seed and starts with a score of 10under Theegala will be 3under Bhatia will be 2under an d Rai even par On Sunday Keegan Bradley won the BMW Championships of the US for his seventh TOUR title by a single stroke from Adam Scott and Sam Burns after a final round 72Si Woo Kim moved up from 44th to 32nd place on the FedEx Cup points list two rungs outside the top 30 who advanced into the finale Koreas Si Woo Kim fell just short in his bid to join compatriots Sungjae Im and Byeong Hun An in the FedEx Cup Playoffs finale the TOUR Championship despite finishing a seasonbest tied fifth at the BMW Championship on SundayIm and An carded matching 71s to end their week in tied 11th and equal 13th positions respectively and safely advanced to the TOUR Championship at East Lake in Atlanta where the FedEx Cup winner will be crownedThe 26yearold Im with seven top10s this season will make his sixth straight appearance at East Lake and will start the TOUR Championship on 3under and seven shots back of Scottie Scheffler in the staggeredscoring format based on FedEx Cup positions entering the Playoffs finale He ranked 11th after the BMW ChampionshipIt will be Ans debut appearance in the TOUR Championship thanks largely to five top 10s and six other top 25s He will start the TOUR Championship on 2under after placing 16th on the FedEx Cup points listJapans Hideki Matsuyama will be the highestranked Asian golfer starting at East Lake after finishing third on the points list behind topranked Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele in second place He will begin the week on 7under but all eyes will be on him as to whether he can recover in time for the first round on Thursday following his withdrawal before the second round of the BMW Championship last weekWhen Sungjae Im bought a house in Atlanta at the end of 2020 it was simply to set up a US base due to the ease of flight connectivity and an array of Korean restaurants in his new neighbourhoodIt has now become a big motivation to ensure he retains his Top30 status each year to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs finale the TOUR Championship which is played at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta and a 30minute drive from Ims homeThe 26yearold Korean star will make his sixth successive appearance in the TOUR Championship this week to extend a proud streak which began during his rookie season in 2019 The impressive run no doubt cements his stature amongst the games eliteWith seven top 10s and over US6 million in earnings this year Im ranked 11th on the FedEx Cup points list following the BMW Championship in Colorado last weekend and will start the final week at historical East Lake on 3under and seven strokes behind leader Scottie Scheffler in the staggeredscoring format IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-indian-americans-theegala-bhatia-and-indo-brit-rai-qualify-for-tour-championships-569246.html Wed, 28 Aug 2024 21:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-keegan-bradley-wins-his-second-bmw-championship-title-568724.html Colorado Aug 26 American professional golfer Keegan Bradley maintained his composure during the final round to clinch victory in the BMW Championship at Castle Pines This is Bradleys seventh career PGA Tour victory and first since winning the 2023 Travelers Championship This was his second BMW Championship title He first won the title in 2018The 2025 United States Ryder Cup captain came into the final round with a oneshot lead from Australias Adam Scott who drew level after the opening holeWhen Bradley tapped in for bogey on the 72nd hole on Sunday he was the last man standing with a winning score of 12under one better than Ludvig Aberg Adam Scott and Sam BurnsWith the win Bradley moved from 50th to fourth in the FedExCup race He also becomes just the third player to ever win a TOUR event after being named the Ryder Cup captainElsewhere at Castle Pines defending champion Viktor Hovland finished in a twoway share of 26th place Tournament favorite Scottie Scheffler never factored en route to a T33 Xander Schauffele placed T5 PGA Tour reportsFor reaching the BMW Championship Bradley secured starts in all of the Signature Events in 2025 but this victory officially gets him into the Masters IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-keegan-bradley-wins-his-second-bmw-championship-title-568724.html Mon, 26 Aug 2024 11:20:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/aditi-diksha-will-return-stronger-to-womens-open-next-year-koreas-jiyai-shin-leads--568671.html St Andrews Scotland Aug 25 Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar missed the cut and exited from the 2024 AIG Womens Open at the Old Course in St Andrews but both will work towards returning stronger next year Aditi takes a break ahead of the Asian swing of the LPGA Tour while Diksha will be back in action at the KPMG Womens Irish Open on the Ladies European TourAditi and Diksha were unlucky to be on the wrong side of the draw on both days Also the wind and threeputts ruined the week for them Aditis best at the event has been T22 in 2018 while Dikshas best was T21 last yearAs the event progressed into the weekend Koreas 31yearold experienced Jiyai Shin fired a round of 67 5 to move to the top of the leaderboard on day three Shin has won the event in 2008 and 2012 and has twice played the Open at St Andrews in 2007 and 2013 Shin was also the first Asian to be ranked No 1 in the world back in 2010 She has 64 wins around the world including two MajorsI played golf for a long time this is my third time at St Andrews said Shin I have a lot of experience with links course and with not this tough wind but I have a lot of good experienceDefending champion Lilia Vu sits in outright second place just one shot behind Shin thanks to a birdie on the last The American carded a round of 71 1 which included five birdies one double bogey and two bogeys to be within touching distance with 18 holes left to playWorld number one Nelly Korda who led at the halfway stage had a trickier day producing a round of 75 3 to slip down to third place on fiveunderparNew Zealands Lydia Ko and Koreas Jenny Shin are one shot further back in a share of fourth place at St Andrews Four players are in a tie for sixth with Chinas Ruoning Yin Koreas Jinhee Im Thailands Jeeno Thitikul and American Alexa Pano all on threeunderpar IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/aditi-diksha-will-return-stronger-to-womens-open-next-year-koreas-jiyai-shin-leads--568671.html Sun, 25 Aug 2024 20:40:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/womens-open-indian-duo-aditi-diksha-miss-cut-while-world-no-1-korda-takes-lead-568402.html St Andrews Scotland Aug 23 Indias top woman golfers Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar missed the cut at the 2024 Womens Open after the first two rounds at the Old Course at St Andrews Aditi shot 7676 while Diksha Dagar shot 7776 to miss the cut that is likely to fall at 4over though the second round is yet to be completed The top 65 and tied from the field of 144 will qualify for the final two rounds of the womens Major that carries a record purse of 95 million this year Aditi was even par after 14 holes and her total of 4over at that stage would have seen her make the cut But she gave away a triple bogey at that point and another bogey on the 15th and the 16th and finished with 76 and a total of 8overDikshas round could be divided into three parts the first saw six pars and then the next six saw four bogeys and the final six again saw six pars for a 76 and she ended at 9over for two daysWorld No 1 Nelly Korda shot a bogeyfree 68 that matched her similar effort of the first day On the first day she had five birdies and one bogey and had just one bogey in 36 holesThe twotime Major winner won her second Major at Chevron earlier this year She also won five titles in a row and six in seven starts in the first half of the year The 2000 Tokyo Olympic gold medallist however was T22 in Paris and a win here could make up for that She leads the defending champion American Lilia Vu 6970 and last years runnerup Englands Charley Hull 6772 by three shotsOlympic gold medallist Lydia Ko 7170 and the 2022 AIG Womens Open champion Ashleigh Buhai 7269 were tied for fourth alongside Mao Saigo of Japan South Africas Cassandra Alexander and Taipeis Chien Peiyun IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/womens-open-indian-duo-aditi-diksha-miss-cut-while-world-no-1-korda-takes-lead-568402.html Sat, 24 Aug 2024 00:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pga-tour-matsuyama-im-enjoy-fast-starts-bhatia-theegala-well-behind-at-bmw-championship-568364.html Castle Rock USA Aug 23 Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama carried on from where he left the St Jude Championships which he won last week and stayed hot with his new putter for solo second place with 5under 67 at the BMW Championship Koreas Sungjae Im 68 and Si Woo Kim 69 enjoyed fast starts to keep the good times rolling for Asian golfers in the FedEx Cup Playoffs However IndianAmericans Akshay Bhatia 72 T22 and Sahith Theegala 73 T34 and IndoBritish Aaron Rai 74 T38 were some way behind in the 50man field Byeong Hun An also from Korea opened with a 72 American Keegan Bradley who was the last man in 50th place to qualify for the BMW Championship fired with a bogeyfree 66 to take the lead after the first roundFour days after securing a twostroke victory at the FedEx St Jude Championship for his second win of the season and 10th PGA TOUR title the 32yearold Matsuyama was in the element once again at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado with six birdies which included a monster 74foot birdie conversion on the fourth holeIm and Kim are determined to join the winners party in this weeks penultimate Playoffs event shooting a 68 and 69 for T3 and T7 respectively as they chase early leaderThe 26yearold Im is seeking a third PGA TOUR win and his cause was helped with six birdies including three opening gains to start his day He was particularly sharp with his short game as he scrambled for six par saves to stay on the leaderboard With Castle Pines being 6200 feet above sea level players like Im have had to make adjustments to distance control as balls fly further and the thinner air makes the 8130yard property a challenging walkIm holds the distinction of recording Asias best finish in the FedEx Cup where he was tied for second behind Rory McIlroy in 2022 He is currently in 10th position on the points list and will make his sixth successive appearance in the Playoffs finale the TOUR Championship next week where the FedEx Cup is at stakeCompatriot Si Woo Kim who needs a high finish to qualify for a third TOUR Championship appearance put himself in a strong position following a sixbirdie round which included a chipin birdie on the fifth and a near holeinone on the par3 16th hole where his ball skirted the edge of the cupA third victory of the season for Matsuyama could see him jump into second place on the FedEx Cup points list behind leader Scottie Scheffler which could mean starting two strokes back at the TOUR Championship which uses a staggeredscoring format based on players rankings after the BMW Championship No Asian golfer has won the FedEx Cup since its inauguration in 2007 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pga-tour-matsuyama-im-enjoy-fast-starts-bhatia-theegala-well-behind-at-bmw-championship-568364.html Fri, 23 Aug 2024 20:50:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/dhruv-sheoran-shoots-67-to-emerge-joint-leader-along-with-manu-gandas-on-day-three-568106.html Chennai Aug 22 Gurugrams Dhruv Sheoran shot a brilliant fiveunder 67 to move up two spots and emerge joint leader at a total of 13under 203 on day three of the Chennai Pro Championship being played at the TNGF Cosmo Golf Course in Chennai Manu Gandas who like Sheoran also hails from the DLF Golf amp Country Club Gurugram signed for a fourunder 68 to share the lead for the third day runningPunes Rohan Dhole Patil the coleader at the halfway stage struck a 71 to end the day in third place at 10under 206 Faridabads Abhinav Lohan 69 and Bangladeshs Jamal Hossain 70 were tied for fourth at eightunder 208Dhruv Sheoran 696767 who was overnight third and one off the lead posted a second consecutive 67 to make his move on Thursday Dhruv carried forward the momentum from round two where he had gone bogeyfreeAfter one birdie on the frontnine the 29yearold Sheoran a twotime winner on the PGTI Feeder Tour produced a moment of magic when he holed out his second shot with a terrific punch shot from close to the trees to sink an eagle on the Par4 10th holeDhruv currently 23rd in the PGTI Ranking then got on a run with his putter sinking three 12feet birdies on the 13th 14th and 17th His only blemish of the round was the bogey on the 15thDhruv searching for his maiden win on the PGTI said I was focusing on one shot at a time and not getting too ahead of myself The key was staying in the moment I recently changed something in my putting that helped me put up good scores yesterday and today My flawless second round on Wednesday really lifted my confidence It gave me the muchneeded momentum Today I stuck to the same gameplan as I did in round twoManu Gandas 676868 the coleader on the first two days continued at the top of the pack as a result of his 68 that featured six birdies and two bogeys Manu currently second on the PGTI Order of Merit and looking for his ninth professional win made a number of quality up and downs for birdies even as he struggled with his ballstrikingGandas said It was once again an inconsistent round I made quite a few mistakes and my putting was not up to the mark I had threeputts on two occasions The tee shots and approach shots werent up to my expectations eitherImportantly I hung in there and scrambled well around the greens to keep myself in contention The up and downs for birdies towards the end helped me get back into rhythm Ill look to use my knowledge of this course to good advantage going into the final roundChennaibased professional S Prasanth was placed tied 49th at fourover 220 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/dhruv-sheoran-shoots-67-to-emerge-joint-leader-along-with-manu-gandas-on-day-three-568106.html Thu, 22 Aug 2024 21:46:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pga-tour-matsuyama-fights-back-to-win-st-jude-champs-akshay-bhatia-is-tied-12th-567191.html Memphis USA Aug 19 Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama became the first Asian golfer to win a FedExCup Playoffs event with a hardfought twostroke victory over Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland at the St Jude Championship the first of three Playoffs event on Sunday The 32yearold Matsuyama surged to his second title of the season and 10th PGA TOUR career victory thanks to two closing birdies at TPC Southwind in Memphis as he overcame a backnine wobble which saw his overnight fiveshot lead turn into a oneshot deficit after dropping four strokes through holes 1215World No 1 Scottie Scheffler who has won six times this season and was the gold medallist in Paris finished fourth three back of Matsuyama and remained top of the FedExCup points list with Schauffele trailing in second positionIndianAmerican Akshay Bhatia 68 was T12 IndoBritish Aaron Rai 67 was T16 and another Indian American Sahith Theegala 71 was T46th All three stay in Top50 of the FedEx Cup Standings and will start in the second Playoffs event the BMW ChampionshipsArmed with a new putter Matsuyama who had earlier been pushed back rolled in a crucial 26foot birdie putt on the 17th green to restore his lead He then knocked his approach to six feet for a final birdie and cemented his stature as Asias winningest player on TOURIm especially happy to be able to win one of the FedExCup Playoff series tournaments Ive tried hard for 10 years and its a great feeling of satisfaction to finally be able to have done it said Matsuyama through his interpreterThe triumph moved Matsuyama up to third place in the FedExCup points list with the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship to play over the next fortnight He is seeking to rewrite more golf history as no Asian golfer has won the TOURs seasonlong prize the FedExCup since its inception in 2007A bronze medallist at the recent Paris Olympics the inform Asian star credited a new putter in the bag and standin caddie Taiga Tabuchi for his stellar week in Memphis His regular caddie Shota Hayafuji and coach Mikihito Kuromiya were forced to return to Japan to sort out their travel documents after losing their passports during a stopover in London following the Olympics Hayafuji will be back on Matsuyamas bag at the BMW ChampionshipWith Schauffele who has won two majors this season charging up the leaderboard following a closing 63 and reigning FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland making his move before a bogey on 17 saw him sign for a 66 Matsuyama made life difficult for himself down the stretch He threeputted on 12 for his first bogey of the day found water with his tee shot into the par3 14th hole and then made a double bogey on 15 with some errorsKoreas Byeong Hun An 69 finished T33 to advance into the BMW Championship limited to the top50 in 15th position on the FedExCup points list and will be joined by compatriots Sungjae Im who finished T40 for 10th position on the points list Si Woo Kim ended his week in T50 and will start the penultimate Playoffs event in 44th place Tom Kim closed with a 71 for T50 in Memphis and agonizingly missed out on his spot in the BMW Championship by one rung in 51st position IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pga-tour-matsuyama-fights-back-to-win-st-jude-champs-akshay-bhatia-is-tied-12th-567191.html Mon, 19 Aug 2024 23:45:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pga-tour-matsuyama-in-joint-lead-at-st-jude-championship-aaron-rai-13th-566667.html Memphis USA Aug 17 Japans Hideki Matsuyama carded a stellar 6under 64 to share the secondround lead at the FedEx St Jude Championship on Friday as he chased his first FedExCup Playoffs event victory Matsuyama the bronze medallist at the Paris Olympics remained in fine form at TPC Southwind in Memphis as he carded seven birdies against a single bogey to reach the halfway mark at 11under 129 He is tied with American Denny McCarthy who fired a 63 featuring nine birdiesAaron Rai the IndoBritish golfer from Wolverhampton who recently won his maiden title on the PGA Tour shot 66 to get to 5under and was T13 while Indian American golfers Akshay Bhatia 6968 at 3under and Sahith Theegala 7069 at 1under were T27 and T42 respectivelyMatsuyamas total of 129 marks his lowest 36hole score on TOUR bettering the 130 he posted at the 2018 BMW Championship and 2016 Wyndham ChampionshipWith the weekend rounds ahead Matsuyama and McCarthy hold a oneshot advantage over Sam Burns 63 while FedExCup leader and Paris Olympic Games gold medalist Scottie Scheffler is a further shot back following a solid 65It will be a tight finish with World No 1 Scheffler well placed at two behind Matsuyama and McCarthyKoreas Tom Kim mounted an impressive comeback rebounding from an opening 71 with a bogeyfree 64 This vaulted him into a tie for 13th at 5under However his compatriots faced tough challenges Byeong Hun An and Sungjae Im battled to matching 70s which left them tied for 42nd on 1underMatsuyama who is playing this week with a standin caddie continued to display exceptional ballstriking and putting sinking lengthy putts of 26 feet 17 feet and 33 feet on Hole Nos 6 9 and 11 respectively His other four birdies came from within eight feetThe stellar form extended Matsuyamas streak to 12 consecutive rounds of par or better currently the longest active streak on TOUR The ninetime PGA Tour winner aims to capitalise on his good run of form where a victory this week could propel him to third place in the FedExCup points list ahead of the BMW Championship which is limited to the top 50Starting in third place at the Playoffs finale the TOUR Championship at East Lake Atlanta in two weeks will see him start three back of runaway leader Scheffler who has won six times on TOUR this season IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pga-tour-matsuyama-in-joint-lead-at-st-jude-championship-aaron-rai-13th-566667.html Sat, 17 Aug 2024 17:50:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-hossler-leads-with-60-rai-9th-with-65-in-wyndham-championship-565118.html Greensboro USA Aug 10 Beau Hossler shot a 10under 60 to earn a twostroke lead at the rainhampered Wyndham Championship with 66 players still to complete their first round in North Carolina Billy Horschel shot 62 and was second while Nick Taylor 63 was third Aaron Rai an English player of Indian origins was Tied ninth after a 65 Akshay Bhatia shot 1under 69 and was T83rd and in danger of missing the cut Over his last 16 rounds Rai has finished under par 10 times while also posting six bogeyfree rounds and 11 rounds with a betterthanaverage score He has had modest success in the last five tournaments in the seasonHossler birdied his first four holes on Friday and then eagled his fifth before picking up another shot at eight to go out in a sevenunder 28 while he carded four gains and a lone bogey on his back nine The 29yearold finished one stroke shy of the course record after parring his final three holesBilly Horschel is Hosslers closest challenger on eight under par and still has two holes to play in his opening round with Nick Taylor third on seven under after 14 holesEnglands Ben Taylor is four shots back on six under after seven birdies on the front nine were slightly undone by two dropped shots coming home as he signed for a 64 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-hossler-leads-with-60-rai-9th-with-65-in-wyndham-championship-565118.html Sat, 10 Aug 2024 23:51:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-tour-arjun-sharmas-super-64-gives-him-halfway-lead-in-mysuru-open-564953.html Mysuru Aug 9 Greater Noidas Arjun Sharma fired an ace enroute his super sixunder 64 in round two that propelled him into the halfway lead at 13under 127 at the Mysuru Open 2024 hosted by Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club JWGC Gurugram golfer Kartik Sharmas 63 and scores of 64 by Bengalurus Shaurya Binu and Chandigarhs Akshay Sharma placed them in a threeway tie for second place at 12under 128 The cut was applied at fourunder 136 Fiftytwo professionals and one amateur made the cutArjun Sharma 6364 who was overnight tied second and one off the lead enjoyed a terrific first nine on Friday as he produced a holeinone on the 15th and sank three more birdies before the turn thanks to a couple of long conversionsThe 31yearold Arjun searching for his maiden win then had a steady frontnine with a solitary birdie on the seventh and no dropped shotsArjun a runnerup on the PGTI said A holeinone is always a big boost to the confidence I had a better score in round one but today I hit it better Im quite pleased with my effort despite a quiet second nine because I managed to keep the errors out and went bogeyfree Im happy with the way Im playing Its a very good layout and if youre hitting it well off the tee there are a lot of scoring opportunitiesShaurya Binu 6464 made an eagletwo six birdies and two bogeys while Kartik Sharma 6563 sank nine birdies and two bogeys and Akshay Sharma 6464 carded seven birdies and a bogeyOvernight leader Aman Raj 67 slipped to fifth place at 11under 129The 17yearold Veer Ganapathy of Bengaluru was the only amateur to make the cut Veer who was tied second after round one struck a 68 on day two to drop to 12th position at nineunder 131Delhis Kshitij Naveed Kaul returned an errorfree nineunder 61 the lowest round of the tournament so far to end the day in tied 13th place at eightunder 132Mysurubased professionals Yashas Chandra sevenunder 133 and Aalaap I L fiveunder 135 were placed tied23rd and tied32nd respectively IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/pgti-tour-arjun-sharmas-super-64-gives-him-halfway-lead-in-mysuru-open-564953.html Fri, 09 Aug 2024 21:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/bogey-free-vidhatri-cruises-ahead-to-2-shot-lead-in-10th-leg-of-wpgt-562297.html Bengaluru July 26 Vidhatri Urs cruised ahead of the field with a bogeyfree 3under 69 in the second round of the 10th Leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at Prestige Golfshire here on Friday The newly minted pro who already has a win in her three pro starts indicated she was about to add to that as she took a twoshot lead over the upandcoming professional Jasmine Shekar 7472 who was searching for her maiden success Vidhatri who shot a 3over 75 with three bogeys and no birdies on the first day reversed that with three birdies and no bogeys with Jasmine as her playing partnerOn a day when play was delayed because of rain Vidhatri parred her first four holes and then found her first birdie on the fifth She added ten pars after that to be 1under after 15 holes She then added birdies on the 16th and the 18th for a steady and superb round of 69 Jasmine had four birdies and four bogeys in her 72 that followed her firstround effort of 74Sneha Singh last years Hero Order of Merit winner had a sixshot improvement on her firstround score of 77 She carded 1under 71 the only round other than that of Vidhatri that was under par Sneha was tied third at 2over 146 and four behind the leaderHitaashee Bakshi the firstround leader slipped back to tied third with a secondround card of 78 with just one birdie against one double and five bogeys Sneha and HItaashee were tied for third with Khushi 7474 and Amandeep DrallThe experienced Amandeep Drall who slipped after a firstround 72 had four birdies against six bogeys and one double bogey for a secondround 76 Rhea Jha 7673 was seventh while Saanvi Somu 7872 was the top amateur in the eighth spotAnother amateur Mannat Brar 7477 was tied for ninth with Neha Tripathi 7378 who is coming back from an injuryA total of 27 golfers made the cut at 161 in the Rs13 lakh event and the prominent players to miss the cut included Durga Nittur IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/bogey-free-vidhatri-cruises-ahead-to-2-shot-lead-in-10th-leg-of-wpgt-562297.html Fri, 26 Jul 2024 23:38:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/india-trio-misses-the-cut-at-dutch-ladies-open-560942.html Hilversum Netherland July 21 Vani Kapoor Tvesa Malik and Ridhima Dilawari missed the cut and failed to advance into the final round of the Dutch Ladies Open Vani Kapoor who started the week well with a good start of 2under 70 in the first round dropped to 4over 76 and missed the cut by one Vani was 2over for 36 holes and the cut was 1over Also missing out were Tvesa Malik 7380 and Ridhima Dilawari 7375Switzerlands star Kim Metraux followed up a fantastic first day with a 5under 67 to extend her advantage at the top of the leaderboard Metraux who is searching for her maiden LET victory led overnight after an opening round of 65 7 at Hilversumsche Golf ClubStarting her second round on the 10th tee Metraux rolled in a birdie on 10 before backtoback bogeys on 11 and 12 But the 29yearold soon found her rhythm again with birdies on holes 13 and 17 to make the turn in oneunderMetraux rolled in four birdies on her back nine for her round of fiveunder and to lead by five strokes with a total of 12underparEnglands Liz Young and Singapores Shannon Tan are both in a share of second place on sevenunderpar after 36 holesGermanys Laura Fünfstuck and Czechias Jana Melichova are one shot further back in a tie for fourth place on sixunderpar IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/india-trio-misses-the-cut-at-dutch-ladies-open-560942.html Sun, 21 Jul 2024 18:33:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-vani-kapoor-top-indian-at-tied-20-in-dutch-ladies-open-560757.html Hilversum Netherlands July 20 Vani Kapoor was the best Indian of the three golfers who teed up at the 2024 Dutch Ladies Open She shot 2under 70 and was tied20th while the other two Indians Tvesa Malik 73 and Ridhima Dilawari 73 were both tied64 Vanis round included three birdies and a lone bogey on Par3 10th while Tvesa Malik had two bogeys against one birdie on the fourth for a 1over 763 and Ridhima Dilawari 73 had two birdies and three bogeys was also T64 Vani began on the tenth with a bogey but after that she had three birdies and no bogeysThe 29yearold Kim Metraux fired an opening round of 65 7 to take the lead The Swiss golfer holed backtoback birdies on holes two and three before adding another on the seventhMetraux then went on a birdie blitz on the back nine with birdies on holes 10 12 13 14 and 16 in the Netherlands She dropped her only shot of the day on the 17th but still sealed a round of sevenunderparThree players are sharing the second place with Eswatinis Nobuhle Dlamini who was bogeyfree Englands Gemma Clews and Germanys Laura Funfstuck all on sixunderparSix players rounded out the top 10 with Frances Camille Chevalier New Zealands Momoka Kobori Norways Marianne Skarpnord Finlands Sanna Nuutinen Englands Liz Young and Dutch player Nikki Hofstede all sitting in T5 on fourunderpar IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-vani-kapoor-top-indian-at-tied-20-in-dutch-ladies-open-560757.html Sat, 20 Jul 2024 21:36:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-vidhatri-grabs-maiden-win-as-a-pro-in-9th-leg-of-wpgt-560548.html Hosur July 20 Vidhatri Urs holed a hat trick of birdies early in the round to cruise to a 2shot win in the ninth leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour 2024 at the Clover Greens here on Friday Vidhatri shot 1under 70 for her third underpar round of the week after 6869 on the first two days She totalled 6under 207 to complete a fine wiretowire win This was Vidhatris first win as a professional though she has won on the Tour as an amateur in the past Amateur Saanvi Somu 71 who bogeyed twice in the last three holes finished second two shots at 209 behind Vidhatri Experienced Gaurika Bishnoi shot even par 71 and was a further two shots behind at 2under 211 for the sole thirdVidhatri who was third in her previous two starts as a professional opened with two pars before finding three birdies on the trot to bolster her chances Four pars from sixth to ninth saw her turn in 3underBogeys on the tenth and the 11th were blips but she made amends for them as she birdied the 15th She could then afford a bogey on the last hole as her playing partner Saanvi dropped shots on the 16th and the 18th Vidhatris 1under 70 was one of the only two underpar rounds on the final daySaanvi had two birdies on either side of the course but she also gave away a shot on the front nine and three more on the back nine for an evenpar 71 which gave her the sole second placeGaurika started with a bogey but two birdies on the third and the fifth saw her turn in 1under On the back nine she dropped a shot on 12th and parred the rest Three players Khushi Khanijau 70 Shweta Mansingh 71 and Sneha Singh 73 were tied for fourth at 1over 214Amateur Mannat Brar 76 slipped in the final round and was seventh while Jahaanvie Walia 71 and Gourabi Bhowmick 74 were tied for ninth Karishma Govind 74 was tenthHItaashee Bakshi 727671 who finished T12 stays on top of the Hero Order of Merit while Sneha Singh the topper in 2023 is lying second with Amandeep Drall 727276 who was 14th this week being thirdThe 10th leg of the Hero WPGT will be held from July 2326 at Prestige Golfshire Bengaluru IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-vidhatri-grabs-maiden-win-as-a-pro-in-9th-leg-of-wpgt-560548.html Sat, 20 Jul 2024 09:53:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-amateurs-saanvi-and-mannat-chase-leader-vidhatri-in-the-9th-leg-of-wpgt-560252.html Hosur TN July 18 Two promising amateurs Mannat Brar and Saanvi Somu were hot on the heels of Vidhatri Urs who is playing only her third event as a professional in the ninth leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Clover Greens Vidhatri shot 2under 69 after a firstround 68 to get to 5under 137 and one clear of amateur Saanvi Somu who repeated her firstround score of 69 to get to 4under 138 Mannat Brar who has been a teammate of both the leaders on India teams at international amateur events also shot 69 like Vidhatri and Saanvi Mannat 7069 is third at 3under 139Vidhatri had a birdiebogey sequence on two occasions first on the third and fourth and then seventh and eighth to turn in even par On the back nine she birdied the tenth and the 16th and there were no bogeys Saanvi played steady with three birdies and one bogey and Mannat also had the sameThe experienced Gaurika Bishnoi who is among the winners in the 2024 season shot a second straight 70 and was fourth She had three birdies against two bogeys Sneha Singh winner of the 2023 Hero Order of Merit with 72 was fifth while Gaurabi Bhowmick who had the days best card of 3under 68 moved up to sole sixth place Gourabi who turned pro recently and shot 74 on the first day had four birdies against one bogey and is now even par for two roundsThree players Agrima Manral 7172 Shweta Mansingh 7172 and Karishma Govind 6974 were tied for seventh place while Amandeep Drall 7272 and Khushi Khanijau 7470 were tied tenthThe cut fell at 9over 151 and 27 players made the grade for the third and final round in the Rs13 lakh event IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-amateurs-saanvi-and-mannat-chase-leader-vidhatri-in-the-9th-leg-of-wpgt-560252.html Fri, 19 Jul 2024 00:28:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/tvesa-malik-leads-indian-challenge-at-dutch-ladies-open-560253.html Hilversum Netherlands July 18 Tvesa Malik leads the Indian challenge at this weeks Dutch Ladies Open which is taking place at Hilversumsche Golf Club Tvesa will have Vani Kapoor and Ridhima Dilawari for company as Indias top star on the LET Diksha Dagar has taken time ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris The 300000 Euro event is the last LET event before the Olympic Games where India will be represented by Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar Tvesa a former Hero Order of Merit winner lost her LET Tour card at the end of 2022 Since then she has since made her way back through a prequalifier in Asia late last year and then some invitations She won her first international event on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa and of late has started finding her form on the main LET tour She was T10 at the Dormy Open and then lost in a playoff at the Swiss Open besides two other Top25 finishes In nine starts she has missed only two cuts but as she remarked the week in the Swiss Open has given her a lot of confidenceVani Kapoor has had a belowaverage season having missed half the cuts in 10 starts and has no Top10s this season Ridhima has got only five starts with her limited status and made the cut in three of themTvesa will play the first round with Welsh golfer Chloe Williams and Marit Harryvan of the Netherlands while Vani plays with English duo Hannah Burke and Florentyna Parker Ridhima tees alongside Helen Tamy Kreuzer of Germany and Maiken Bing Paulsen of NorwayLocal star Anne Van Dam produced a fair result at last weeks Amundi Evian Championship with rounds of 66707472 at Evian Resort Golf Club It was her sixth cut of the year and ended the week in a tie for 44th place Van Dam has been looking forward to this spell of summer golf which includes two majors the Olympic Games the Scottish Open and the Dutch Ladies OpenHilversumsche provides a treelined challenge this week and having had plenty of rainfall in recent months the course is playing slightly differently than in 2023 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/tvesa-malik-leads-indian-challenge-at-dutch-ladies-open-560253.html Fri, 19 Jul 2024 00:29:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/bengaluru-to-host-second-edition-of-trinity-golf-champions-league-559807.html New Delhi July 17 The second edition of the Trinity Golf Champions League TGCL will take place in Bangalore this September Building on the success of its inaugural season in September 2023 this year TGCL is featuring a minimum of four tournament rounds played in an IPLstyle format teams representing seven cities in India and one from Sri Lanka will compete with Bengaluru taking center stage as the host cityThis Ryders Cup format adds a thrilling layer of collaboration and team spirit transforming every match into a nailbiting spectacle The excitement is further amplified by the expected participation of professional golfer alongside celebrity golfer and amateur golfers The winning team will walk away with a significant cash prize raising the stakes for all participantsGolf is a sport that requires immense skill and focus but it can often be seen as an individual pursuit Our second edition of TGCL will bring together professionals amateurs and even celebrity golfers to compete as a team fostering a spirit of camaraderie and strategic collaboration that will be unlike anything golf fans have ever witnessed We are thrilled to introduce 8 teams including a foreign team participation With a captivating team format and the participation of talented golfers from across the globe the second edition of TGCL promises to be an electrifying experience for golf enthusiasts and sports fans alike said PGTI chief Kapil DevAmong the seven teams Wave Riders will make its debut of its flagship team in professional golf sports with their participation in the prestigious Trinity Golf Champions League TGCL 2024We are incredibly proud to be a part of TGCL 2024 Our entry into the world of professional sports through TGCL underscores Wave Citys unwavering commitment to promoting health wellness and a vibrant lifestyle The innovative team format perfectly aligns with our vision of cultivating a thriving golfing community Wave Riders embodies this spirit by bringing together a diverse group of passionate golfers We are confident they will inspire a wider audience to embrace the joy of golf said Rajiv Gupta MD of Wave Riders IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/bengaluru-to-host-second-edition-of-trinity-golf-champions-league-559807.html Wed, 17 Jul 2024 17:10:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/aditi-finishes-tied-17th-at-evian-diksha-dagar-to-return-for-olympics-559341.html Evian Les Bains France July 15 Aditi Ashok produced a very fine finish at the Amundi Evian Championship as she birdied three times in the last four holes and secured her best finish in the Majors She shot 2under 69 and was Tied17th This was her Top20 at a Major Aditis previous best at a Major was T22 at the 2018 Womens Open Aditi shot 71706769 in her four rounds Japans Ayaka Furue finished in a stunning manner with three birdies from the 14th to the 16th and then an eagle on the 18th as she carded 69Aditi had an early bogey on the second followed by a string of pars and then a birdie on the 12th and a bogey and a birdie on the 13th to be 1over after 13 holes Then came two birdies on the 15th and the 16th and a closing birdie on the 18thDiksha Dagar the other Indian in the field withdrew after the first round The two Indians will also play at the 2024 Paris OlympicsJapans Ayaka Furue won her first major championship by a single shot when she holed an impressive eagle putt from 15 feet on the final green at Evian Resort Golf Club in France IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/aditi-finishes-tied-17th-at-evian-diksha-dagar-to-return-for-olympics-559341.html Mon, 15 Jul 2024 22:57:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/amundi-evian-championship-golfer-aditi-ashok-makes-cut-diksha-bows-out-558693.html Evian Les Bains France July 13 Indian golfer Aditi Ashok is sure of the cut at the Amundi Evian Championship Play was suspended on the day due to lightning in the area and the second round is yet to be completed Resumption was not possible due to heavy rain thunder and lightningAditi added 1under 70 to her first round 71 and was 1under for 36 holes and T44th up from overnight T52 The second round is yet to finishDiksha Dagar who had a rough 76 on the first day withdrew before the second round on medical groundsAditi who won a LET event at Hero Womens Indian Open in her first year has won a total of five winsAt 12underpar after 13 holes Ayaka Furue of Japan holds a threestroke lead over Australian Stephanie Kyriacou and Haeran Ryu of South Korea after 16 and 11 holes respectivelyFirstround coleader Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand who held a threeway share of the overnight lead is a stroke further back in a tie for fourth position alongside Angela Stanford of the United StatesFirstround coleader Ingrid Lindblad of Sweden is tied for sixth with South Korean trio HyoJoo Kim the 2014 champion Mi Hyang Lee and Yu Jin Sung who had the lowest round of the day an eightunderpar 63Fellow firstround coleader Gemma Dryburgh of Scotland lies in a sixway tie for 10th on sixunderpar after nine holes with Lauren Coughlin of the United States South Korean trio HyeJin Choi Jin Young Ko Narin An and Englands Georgia Hall who fought back from a rough start to card a 67 whilst carrying an injuryThe Evian Championships is a 72hole stroke play competition with a cut to the top 65 professionals and ties after 36 holes and a purse of USD 8 million with a winners share of 12 million IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/amundi-evian-championship-golfer-aditi-ashok-makes-cut-diksha-bows-out-558693.html Sat, 13 Jul 2024 15:44:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/indian-womens-star-duo-diksha-and-aditi-ready-for-busy-schedule-including-evian-championship-558206.html EvianlesBains France July 10 Diksha Dagar and Aditi Ashok will fly the Indian flag at the womens Major the Amundi Evian Championships this week The two Indians will play a series of highprofile events over the next six weeks and they include two Majors an Olympic Games and the Womens Scottish Open a Ladies European Tour LET event which is cosanctioned with the LPGA While Diksha plays seven events in eight weeks Aditi Ashok who has been playing on the LPGA in the US will play the two Majors Evian and AIG Womens Open Olympic Games and the Womens Scottish OpenAditi one spot away from a medal at the Tokyo Olympics plays her third Olympics while Diksha is ready for her second oneDiksha is coming off a T14 finish at the Aramco Series London and has been showing signs of coming back into the kind of form that saw her finish third on the LET order of Merit Currently 14th on the Order of Merit she has had three Top10s four Top20 and two other Top25 finishesHer father Col Naren Dagar who travels with Diksha said Since the time she made her debut on LET and won and then added a second win last year she has had numerous close runs with more titles including at her home event the Womens Indian Open We feel that she is capable of winning more and in bigger events She is becoming better at her game has and has become stronger mentally and physicallyDiksha plays the Evian Championships this week followed by Dutch Ladies and has a week off before the Olympic Games followed by the Womens Scottish Open the AIG Womens Open and the KPMG Irish Womens Open This is one of the most important stretches in European Womens golf adds DagarAditi Ashok who won the seasonending Andalucia Championships on LET in 2023 has not had a Top10 finish in 2024 and her best was T17 at the Meijer LPGA Classic this season However she has missed only four cuts in 14 starts though many of her finishes have been on the lower half of the leaderboard after the cut IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/indian-womens-star-duo-diksha-and-aditi-ready-for-busy-schedule-including-evian-championship-558206.html Wed, 10 Jul 2024 17:31:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-olympic-bronze-medallist-c-t-pan-finishes-second-at-deere-classic-earns-spot-to-the-open-cship-557403.html Silivis US July 8 Chinese Taipeis C T Pan earned one of two coveted tickets to The Open Championship after finishing runnerup at the John Deere Classic The 32yearold Pan shot a brilliant 7under 64 in the final round at TPC Deere Run in Illinois to enjoy his best finish of the season even as American Davis Thompson sealed his maiden PGA Tour title by four strokes following a 64Englands Aaron Rai whose roots go back to India and contended earlier in the week finished T7 with rounds of 65636669 and was 21under and three behind the winner ThompsonKoreas Sungjae Im finished tied 12th after a 64 while Pans compatriot Kevin Yu earned a share of 20th place following a 67Pan who holds one PGA Tour title was ecstatic to earn his fourth Open start at Royal Troon in two weeks time Its going to be a great trip Honestly it will be hectic to arrange all the travel details last minute but it will be a good problem to have and my wife and I will be looking forward to our trip there he saidHis second top3 finish of the season came after Pan was T3 at the Mexico Open at Vidanta in February He also moved to 83rd position on the latest FedExCup standings up from 116th The top70 qualify for the Playoffs next month following the conclusion of the Regular SeasonMore importantly his return to top form will be a confidence booster as Pan prepares to tee up at the Paris Olympics in early August after winning the bronze medal in Tokyo three years agoAlongside Pan the other two in Tied second were the 24under alongside Michael Thorbjornsen and amateur Luke Clanton IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-olympic-bronze-medallist-c-t-pan-finishes-second-at-deere-classic-earns-spot-to-the-open-cship-557403.html Mon, 08 Jul 2024 11:28:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/paris-olympics-top-10-medal-hopes-for-india-556928.html New Delhi July 6 The Paris Olympics are fast approaching and were just 20 days away from the start of the worlds biggest sporting carnival India will be sending a contingent of close to 120 sportspersons to the Olympics including an Athletics team led by the defending champion in the mens javelin Neeraj Chopra a 21member Shooting team and a 16member mens hockey squad IANS takes a look at the Top 10 medal prospects for India based on their recent performance and fitnessNeeraj Chopra Javelin throwThe javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra will strive to make history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win backtoback gold medals Chopra was last in action at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku Finland on June 18 and currently training in Germany With a best throw of 8597m he won the gold medal there This weeks Paris Diamond League is not part of his competition calendar meaning the next time he takes the field will be at the OlympicsSatwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty BadmintonSatwik and Chirag havent competed since the Singapore Open in May where they lost in the first round This has also affected their ranking as they dropped to World No 3 from the top spot The duo had narrowly missed out on a quarterfinal berth in the last Olympics despite winning two of their three group matchesLovlina Borgohain BoxingTokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina was recently in action at the Grand Prix tournament in the Czech Republic She lost two bouts and won once which was enough for her to win silver Along with Nikhat she is also in Saarbrucken Germany for a monthlong training camp After finishing the camp on July 22 Lovlina will head to Paris in search of her second Olympic medalMens hockey teamHead coach Craig Fulton had recently named the final squad that will travel to Paris As expected Harmanpreet Singh will lead the side and PR Sreejesh will be the only goalkeeper in the team The men didnt have a great run in the Europe leg of the Pro League which saw them finish seventh only above Spain and Ireland The team is currently training in Bengaluru and will fly to Switzerland soon for a team bonding camp They are also expected to play a few friendlies before reaching Paris India won a bronze medal in Tokyo after 41 years Now a bigger drought awaits them as the country has not won backtoback medals at the Olympics since 1972 in MunichVinesh Phogat WrestlingPhogat will be in action soon when she competes in the Spain Grand Prix Training in Bengaluru she sought help from the Sports Ministry on Tuesday to help in her visa process and duly received the visa a few hours later After the event in Spain she will be off to France for a 20day training stint in preparation for the Olympics She was last in action at the Budapest Ranking Series in June where she lost to Chinas Jiang Zhu 50 in the 50kg quarterfinalsNikhat Zareen BoxingNikhat already a twotime world champion will aim for greater glory in Paris where she will be making her Olympic debut She was last in action at the Elorda Cup in May where she took top honours At the moment Nikhat along with five other boxers is on a monthlong training at the Olympic Centre in Saarbrucken Germany She will be there till July 22 and will then head to ParisPV Sindhu BadmintonSindhu is currently training with her coach Agus Dwi Santoso and her team in Saarbrucken Germany She has not been in action since the Indonesia Open last month and hasnt been in prime form in her recent tournaments losing in the early rounds of both the Singapore Open and Indonesia events but remains among Indias brightest medal hopes If she medals in Paris she would become Indias most successful Olympian with three medals after a silver in Rio 2016 and a bronze in Tokyo 2020Mirabai Chanu WeightliftingMirabai is looking to get on the Olympic podium once again in Paris after her scintillating performance in Tokyo earned her a silver medal It has not been an easy journey for Mirabai since the Tokyo glory as she endured a tough period due to injuries Nevertheless shes one of the strong favourites in her category in Paris and she can climb the podium if she lifts in the range of 200210kgs She has been training at the NIS Patiala and will be heading to France next week to acclimatise to the conditions before her big competitionSift Kaur Samra ShootingSift the Asian Games gold medallist made it to the Paris squad in womens 50m rifle 3 positions after outstanding performance in the fourstage Olympic selection trials She was in action at the Munich World Cup earlier last month where she won the bronze medal missing silver by only 01 point to Han Jiayu of China She had recently finished a national camp in France and will be seen next at the OlympicsAditi Ashok GolfAditi will represent India for the third time at the Olympics Her participation was never in doubt but was confirmed recently via Olympic Golf Rankings Aditi ranked 60th in the world qualified for the Games as she was placed 24th She has not been in great form as she failed to secure a top10 finish this season but shell be hoping to repeat her Tokyo heroics and also go a step further in terms of clinching a medal IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/paris-olympics-top-10-medal-hopes-for-india-556928.html Sat, 06 Jul 2024 12:32:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-strong-asian-flavour-on-pga-tour-leaderboard-as-rai-and-pan-share-lead-556947.html Silvis Illinois July 6 Englands Aaron Rai and CT Pan of Chinese Taipei gave the scoreboard at the John Deere Classic a strong Asian flavour as they shared the lead at the midway stage of the PGA TOUR event Rai whose parents have an Indian origin going back to his grandparents shot another bogeyfree round of 8under 63 to share the lead with Pan going into the weekend at the John Deere Classic Rai was 6563 for two rounds and Pan was the same and the duo was 14underThe pair lead by two strokes from Englands Harry Hall 66 while Korean star Sungjae Im also powered into contention following a superb 64 to be tied for fourth with five others including overnight leader Hayden Springer on 130A week ago Rai shared the 54hole lead in Detroit and wound up one shot begin winner Cam Davis Rai who was bogey free in his first round 65 went two shots better and was still without a bogey on his scorecard He is looking for his maiden PGA Tour win after a lot of close callsRais grandparents from both his mother and fathers side have Indian origins His mother grew up in Kenya before they migrated to UK where Aaron was born in WolverhamptonThe impressive performance at TPC Deere Run will certainly boost Pans confidence ahead of the Olympics where he won the bronze medal in Tokyo beating the likes of Rory McIlroy Collin Morikawa and Hideki Matsuyama in a sevenway playoff for the podium finishPan holed out from 32 yards for an eagle en route to a flawless 8under 63 The 32yearold Pan who won the 2019 RBC Heritage for his sole PGA TOUR victory pitched in for a two on the par4 14th hole at TPC Deere Run to post his best score of the season complemented by six earlier birdiesPans Paris 2024 Olympic Gamesbound compatriot Kevin Yu also delivered an impressive 63 improving 57 places for joint 10th Yu chalked up 10 birdies seven of which came on the back nine offset by two bogeysJapans Ryo Hisatsune carded a second successive 67 to comfortably progress to the weekend rounds in T32 at 134 He is followed by SH Kim of Korea who shot a 69 to sit one shot further back in T39Twotime John Deere winner Jordan Spieth made the weekend with 6967 IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-strong-asian-flavour-on-pga-tour-leaderboard-as-rai-and-pan-share-lead-556947.html Sat, 06 Jul 2024 13:48:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/springer-shoots-59-at-john-deere-classic-556726.html Silvis US July 5 Hayden Springer hit the magic number 69 as he posted a sub60 round in the John Deere Classic for a 12under 59 It was the 14th sub60 score in PGA Tour history Still it got him only a twoshot lead over Sami Valimaki on a rainhit TPC Deere Run so vulnerable to scoring that only 13 players in the 156man field were over parPlayers were allowed to lift clean and place their golf balls in the short grassSpringer shot 27 on the front nine and tried to block out thoughts of a 59 or better Then he made five straight pars and figured the chance had passed until he holed a 55yard shot for eagle on the par5 17thNeeding a birdie for golfs magic number his approach caught the slope and left him 12 feet short and the putt was true all the wayThe PGA Tour record is a 58 by Jim Furyk at the Travelers Championship in 2016 Furyk also is among 13 players with a 59Eric Cole had a 62 while the group at 63 included Luke Clanton Lucas Glover outside bubble with five weeks to go before the FedEx Cup playoffs shot 64Kevin Chappell was among those at 64 Conditions were so conducive to scoring that 12 players from the morning wave were at 65 or lower Jordan Spieth was not among them He had to scramble for a 69 and his first step Friday will be making the cut IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/springer-shoots-59-at-john-deere-classic-556726.html Fri, 05 Jul 2024 15:48:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-bhatia-drops-a-final-hole-bogey-to-lose-the-golf-title-by-one-555578.html Detroit USA July 1 Akshay Bhatia threeputted on the 72nd hole and lost by one shot at the Rocket Mortgage Classic Cam Davis starting the day one behind overnight leaders Bhatia and Aaron Rai carded 2under 70 with a birdie on the 17th and a par on the 18th to set a clubhouse target of 18under At the 18th tee Bhatia in the final group with Aaron Rai was oneunder for the day and had a total of 18under He needed a birdie to win and a par to get into the playoff But he threeputted from 32 feet and his par putt failed to drop from six feet for a bogey and he fell to second with 72 in the final round and a total of 17underRai had four pars in his last four holes for a 72 and at 17under he was also in a tie for second with the other two behind Davis Thompson 68 and Min Woo Lee 69Bhatia said It sucks No other way to put it I mean just sucksBhatia hadnt made a bogey through 54 holes but broke that run on the par4 third earlier Sunday in Motown He got that one back immediately draining a 32foot birdie on the very next hole Bhatia added a birdie on the seventh to move to 18under and was steady enough for the next 10 holes until the par4 finishing hole It was his first threeputt of the week and his first miss inside 6 feetBhatia was looking for his second win of the season after capturing the Valero Texas Open in April He also won last years Barracuda Championship while competing on Special Temporary MembershipThis was Bhatias third top10 finish of the season and second in a row after finishing T5 at the Travelers Championship He moves from No 15 to No 11 on the seasonlong FedExCup standingsBhatia entered the final round as the only player in the field without a bogey through 54 holes and made two bogeys in the final round IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-bhatia-drops-a-final-hole-bogey-to-lose-the-golf-title-by-one-555578.html Tue, 02 Jul 2024 00:11:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-bhatia-drops-a-final-hole-bogey-to-lose-title-by-one-shot-555581.html Detroit USA July 1 Akshay Bhatia threeputted on the 72nd hole and lost by one shot at the Rocket Mortgage Classic Cam Davis starting the day one behind overnight leaders Bhatia and Aaron Rai carded 2under 70 with a birdie on the 17th and a par on the 18th to set a clubhouse target of 18under At the 18th tee Bhatia in the final group with Aaron Rai was oneunder for the day and had a total of 18under He needed a birdie to win and a par to get into the playoff But he threeputted from 32 feet and his par putt failed to drop from six feet for a bogey and he fell to second with 72 in the final round and a total of 17underRai had four pars in his last four holes for a 72 and at 17under he was also in a tie for second with the other two behind Davis Thompson 68 and Min Woo Lee 69Bhatia said It sucks No other way to put it I mean just sucksBhatia hadnt made a bogey through 54 holes but broke that run on the par4 third earlier Sunday in Motown He got that one back immediately draining a 32foot birdie on the very next hole Bhatia added a birdie on the seventh to move to 18under and was steady enough for the next 10 holes until the par4 finishing hole It was his first threeputt of the week and his first miss inside 6 feetBhatia was looking for his second win of the season after capturing the Valero Texas Open in April He also won last years Barracuda Championship while competing on Special Temporary MembershipThis was Bhatias third top10 finish of the season and second in a row after finishing T5 at the Travelers Championship He moves from No 15 to No 11 on the seasonlong FedExCup standingsBhatia entered the final round as the only player in the field without a bogey through 54 holes and made two bogeys in the final round IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-bhatia-drops-a-final-hole-bogey-to-lose-title-by-one-shot-555581.html Tue, 02 Jul 2024 00:22:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/tvesa-beaten-in-play-off-in-swiss-ladies-open-golf-555273.html Rotkreuz Switzerland June 30 Englands Alice Hewson beat Indias Tvesa Malik in a playoff to win the Swiss Ladies Open With both stars locked on 11under par after a dramatic final round one which saw Hewson fire a 65 6 the 26yearold made a clutch birdie on the first playoff hole to seal the deal and earn her first victory since the Investec South African Womens Open in 2020Im a little bit lost for words really Hewson said Huge congrats to Tvesa as well It was an unreal finish from her today It was an honour being out there with her in the playoff It feels a bit surreal Its been a while since Ive been in this situationThe playoff followed a round full of drama at Golfpark Holzhausern as 23 players sat within three shots of the lead with nine holes to goHewson who was three behind Spains Fatima Fernandez Cano prior to play made just one birdie on the front nine before coming alive on the closing stretch birdying the 12th and 15thThen fireworks on the par5 17th Hewson slam dunking her bunker shot for eagle to tie Lauren Walshs target of 10under par One hole later and Hewson would dial in a magnificent approach to birdie the closing 18th and take the clubhouse leadIt was then on the chasers to respond Malik the pick of the bunch as she mimicked Hewson by pitching in from the sand on 17 for eagle and birdying 18 to tie her tally of 11under par She was 5 for last four holesAfter Fernandez Cano was unable to covert her chip on 18 to join the pair it was back to the tee for the playoff Malik saw her approach miss the green as Hewson hit the dancefloor again converting the birdie to seal victory and return to the winners circle in styleI was patient all day Hewson said I had given myself so may opportunities So to see a couple drop coming in was nice I didnt see a leaderboard until the 16th green I thought time to go birdiebirdie and then I got away with one on 17 with the slamdunk from the bunkerThere were times when the belief was definitely missing I went through a bit of a rough patch twoandabit years ago So to be back here winning today Im very gratefulIn finishing runnerup Malik records her best finish on the LET and earns a spot at next weeks Aramco Team Series London eventOvernight leader Fernandez Cano finished in a tie for third on 10under par alongside Walsh The Irishwoman had a wonderful final day posting a round of the week 64 7Swedens Moa Folke and Spains Maria Hernandez shared fifth on eightunder par Thailands Aunchisa Utama and Spanish duo Mireia Prat and Harang Lee were one back in a tie for seventh the latter also clinching a spot at Centurion next weekWith the victory Hewson jumps to fifth in the LET Order of Merit and picks up the 45000 euro cash prize Compatriot Bronte Law still leads the way in the seasonlong competition while Switzerlands Chiara Tamburlini moves into third IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/tvesa-beaten-in-play-off-in-swiss-ladies-open-golf-555273.html Mon, 01 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/tvesa-and-vani-tied-for-fourth-in-swiss-ladies-open-golf-555084.html Rotkreuz Switzerland June 29 Tvesa Malik and Vani Kapoor were tied for fourth after two rounds at the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open Tvesa added a second straight 3under 68 to go 6under for two days while Vani who shot 66 on the first day scored 1under 70 on the second to get to a similar 6under total Vani and Tvesa at 6under were two behind Fatima Fernandez Cano of Spain 6866 at 8under Another Indian who made the cut was Ridhima Dilawari 7269Behind Cano two players were tied for second at 7under with Swede Sara Kjelker 66 and Kristyna Napoleava 68Tvesa and Vani were tied fourth alongside Emily Penttila 66 and Luna Sobron Gomes 66 at 6under 136 for 36 holesRidhima Dilawari who had four birdies in her first six holes finished with 69 following three bogeys in her last five holes She also birdied the 17th At 1under for two days she is T35Amandeep Drall 7273 was hanging by a slender thread just outside the projected cut line of 2over with a few players yet to finish their second round Seher Atwal 7773 was way off and missed the cut IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/tvesa-and-vani-tied-for-fourth-in-swiss-ladies-open-golf-555084.html Sun, 30 Jun 2024 00:22:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golfer-vani-kapoor-among-four-leaders-tvesa-lying-ninth-in-swiss-ladies-open-554986.html Rotkreuz Switzerland June 29 Indias Vani Kapoor was among the four players in shared lead at the end of the first round at the Swiss Ladies Open Vani was tied with Kirsten Rudgeley Caroline Hedwall and AnneCharlotte Mora who were all on fiveunder par Among others Indians Tvesa Malik Sandhu who was tied third when she finished was tied ninth at the end of the day while Ridhima Dilawari and Amandeep Drall were tied 57th with 1over 72 and Seher Atwal 77 was T108Aussie Rudgeley chasing her maiden Ladies European Tour LET win got the ball rolling on Friday morning as she posted a bogeyfree 66 5 at Golfpark HolzhäusernA little later Solheim Cup star Hedwall followed suit carding six birdies and dropping just the one shot at the par4 5th to match the scoreIn the afternoon wave Vani Kapoor starting on the 10th hole went on a birdie spree on her backnine firing five birdies after going out levelparIts a big relief the Indian said My game has been feeling good for quite some time but I feel like everything wasnt coming around So its good to see some positives Im just trying to believe in myself a bit more I think thats helped I was playing in Italy a couple of weeks ago and I had someone in my bag he was a professional and he said you have it in you He said to believe and thats what I did todayFinally Mora continued her excellent record at Golfpark Holzhäusern the Frenchwoman finished T10 in 2021 and T3 in 2023 recovering well after opening with a doublebogey at the par4 1st to post seven birdiesFour players sit just behind in a tie for fifth on fourunder par This quartet includes Spains Maria Hernandez Moroccos Maha Haddioui Swedens Sofie Bringner and Polands Dorota ZalewskaTwelve players share ninth on threeunder par including home favourite Kim Metraux last weeks runnerup Rosie Davies and the inform Emma Spitz from AustriaAnother one of the home stars Joburg Ladies Open winner Chiara Tamburlini is one shot further back from them all on twounder par IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golfer-vani-kapoor-among-four-leaders-tvesa-lying-ninth-in-swiss-ladies-open-554986.html Sat, 29 Jun 2024 14:59:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-and-rai-who-have-india-connections-share-lead-at-rocket-mortgage-golf-554990.html Detroit US June 29 Akshay Bhatia carded 5under 67 to keep a share of the lead as he was joined by Englands Aaron Rai 65 at 13under at the halfway stage of the Rocket Mortgage Classic IndianAmerican Bhatias card included a par on Par5 17th after his golf ball went into a fairway drain through one of the holes in the metal cover He got a free drop and he went on to make par It was a second bogey free round at the Detroit Golf ClubAaron Rai who like Bhatia has Indian connections shot 65 to match Bhatia at 13under 131 on a course that consistently yields low scores Rai made seven birdies including four in a fivehole stretch midway through the round and capped his day with a 21foot birdie putt on the 18thTaylor Montgomery 68 Troy Merritt 64 Erik van Rooyen 64 and Cameron Young 66 were two strokes behind the coleaders Eric Cole 68 Cam Davis 66 and Joel Dahmen 64 were another shot backBhatia 22 who chose to skip college and turned pro at age 17 earned his second PGA TOUR victory at the Valero Texas Open in April Last week he was tied fifth at the Travelers ChampionshipAbout the ball going onto the drain Bhatia laughed and said Oh yeah that was wild No never seen it Rules officials never seen it so it was kind of a one in a million chance that the ball goes in that small hole in that drain so it was pretty funny Oh no that was hilarious Its going to be pretty viral I think What are the odds of that happeningComing to his final round pairing last week with Scottie Scheffler he said Its cool to see what its like Hes Scheffler obviously playing on a different level than many of us out here Yeah I mean he just kind of plots around and doesnt make many mistakes and doesnt let anything get to him Thats why hes the No 1 player in the world he holds himself to that standardRai said It his game feels in a good place Played really nicely the last two days hit it well tee to green hit a lot of fairways a lot of chances and rolled it pretty well too on the greens Yeah its been a real solid first two days to start withHe added I think its been more of a process over the last few years theres nothing in particular that Ive really tried to change this year I think building good foundations off previous years and just trying to stay on top of the fundamentals trying to stay in a pretty good place And that changes week to week and I think trying to bring it back and kind of play with what is going on that particular week I feel like weve done a better job of managing the full shots which has certainly helped this season with tee to greenRai Montgomery and Young are each seeking their first PGA TOUR victory Merritt and van Rooyen have each won twiceBhatia who started with a 64 on the first day started the second round on the par4 10th and hit an approach from 112 yards to 3 feet for birdie He made a 31foot putt on the par3 15th for his second of five birdies FridayTom Kim the highestranked player in the field at No 16 followed up a firstround 73 with a 68 and missed the cut by a stroke at 3 underOnly Bhatia and Rai are bogey free for 36 holesThis is Rais first career 36hole lead or colead on TOUR in an individual strokeplay event He held a share of the 36hole lead with partner David Lipsky at the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans before finishing T23He is searching for his first career win on TOUR and T3 at 2023 RBC Canadian Open is his best He has had two Top10s this season with T4 at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson as his best IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-and-rai-who-have-india-connections-share-lead-at-rocket-mortgage-golf-554990.html Sat, 29 Jun 2024 15:26:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-tvesa-leads-a-contingent-of-five-indians-in-switzerland-diksha-takes-a-week-off-554528.html Golfpark Holzhausern Switzerland June 27 Tvesa Malik is among the five Indian players in the field this week at the Swiss Ladies Open here Tvesa has been finding her form back and it started with the Dormy Open in Helsingborg where she logged a Tied10th finish after that made cuts in the Italian Open and Czech Ladies Open where she was Tied25th After getting a fair number of starts following reranking she is currently 76th on the Merit list she needs to be in Top80 to ensure a Ladies European Tour LET card for 2025The others in the field at the Swiss Ladies Open are Vani Kapoor and Amandeep Drall Ridhima Dilawari and Seher Atwal Diksha Dagar and Pranavi Urs the top two Indians on the LET this season have taken a break this week Olympicbound Diksha had a fever and a stiff neck while playing Czech LadiesVani Kapoor has played a few events this season but has not had a Top10 while Amandeep Drall and Ridhima have had limited appearances Seher makes her first start on LET this seasonChiara Tamburlini is ready to go in her home event at the Swiss Ladies OpenThe 24yearold rookie tees up as the domestic favourite at Golfpark Holzhausern sitting fourth in the Ladies European Tour LET Order of MeritTamburlini winner of this years Joburg Ladies Open is now excited for the challenge as she looks to kick on with the remainder of the seasonThe Swiss star had enjoyed a magnificent start to her debut season winning in South Africa finishing runnerup at the Jabra Ladies Open and registering two more top10s to climb to the top of the rookie standings IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-tvesa-leads-a-contingent-of-five-indians-in-switzerland-diksha-takes-a-week-off-554528.html Thu, 27 Jun 2024 19:06:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/tvesa-malik-finishes-with-a-bogey-free-round-in-czech-ladies-open-golf-553739.html Beroun Czech Republic June 24 Tvesa Malik produced a superb 5under 67 round on the final day of the Czech Ladies Open an event won by her colleague Diksha Dagar a year earlier As Tvesa finished Tied25 the best this week among Indians the Olympicsbound Diksha was T43 Spains Marta Martin shot a superb charged 63 9 on the final day to win by four strokes She had produced rounds of 69 and 67 on the first two days to sit in a share of second place after 36 holes at Royal Beroun Golf ClubIn a fine week for the sixplayer Indian contingent all six made the cutAs Tvesa regained her form other Indians were amateur Avani Prashanth 697072 and Vani Kapoor 687073 at T33rd The defending champion Diksha Dagar 717270 and Pranavi Urs 716973 were T43rd and Ridhima Dilawari 707272 was T54Next week the Ladies European Tour LET travels to Golfpark Holzhausern for the Swiss Ladies Open from June 2830Led by Diksha Dagar and Tvesa Malik there will be six Indians in the field once again Also in are Vani Kapoor and Ridhima Dilawari Seher Atwal and Amandeep Drall Pranavi will skip the eventIt was Martas second pro win and her second in Czechia after winning the Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge on the LET Access Series in 2023Englands Rosie Davies finished in second place her bestever result on the LET after also firing a 63 9 on the final day Finlands Ursula Wikstrom Wales Chloe Williams and Swedens Caroline Hedwall all finished in a share of third place on 12underpar IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/tvesa-malik-finishes-with-a-bogey-free-round-in-czech-ladies-open-golf-553739.html Mon, 24 Jun 2024 21:57:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-all-5-indians-including-defending-champion-diksha-shoot-under-par-in-czech-ladies-open-553328.html Beroun Czech Republic June 22 All five Indians in the field at the 2024 Czech Ladies Open shot underpar scores in the first round which saw a weather interruption The best Indian was Vani Kapoor with 4under 68 and T12 at the end of the round while amateur Avani Prashanth was the next best at T27 with 3under 69 Ridhima Dilawari 70 was T39 and the top three Indian stars Diksha Dagar the defending champion Pranavi Urs and Tvesa Malik carded 1under 71 each to be T55Diksha who was the winner here last year has been in good form since last season She had nine Top10s including a win in the Czech Republic and third place at Indian Open and this season her four Top10s include a third in Joburg Diksha who is headed to the Olympics had four birdies and three bogeysVani Kapoor the top Indian had six birdies and two bogeys while Avani who plans to turn pro at the end of the year had five birdies including four in the stretch between the fourth and ninth holes at Royal Beroun Golf ClubChloe Williams fired a flawless opening round of 63 9 to hold a twoshot lead at the 2024 Czech Ladies Open It was an interrupted day for the afternoon wave as play was suspended at 412 pm local time due to the threat of thunder and lightning but restarted at 610 pm local time with all groups completing their first round But the Welshwoman who began her round on the 10th tee in the morning wave was bogeyfree on the first day at Royal Beroun Golf Club Williams also had two chipinsIt hasnt been the best of starts to 2024 for Williams who sits 120th in the LET Order of Merit with one top30 finish to her name Finlands Sanna Nuutinen and Swedens Caroline Hedwall both sit in a share of second place on sevenunderpar 65 eachAlexandra Swayne of the US Virgin Islands sits in outright fourth place on sixunderpar after her bogeyfree 66 on the first day There are seven players in a share of fifth place with Elena Moosmann Marianne Skarpnord Maria Hernandez Eleanor Givens Virginia Elena Carta Emma Spitz and Hannah Screen all on fiveunderpar IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-all-5-indians-including-defending-champion-diksha-shoot-under-par-in-czech-ladies-open-553328.html Sat, 22 Jun 2024 20:36:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-indian-american-akshay-bhatia-tied-second-at-travelers-championship-koreas-tom-kim-in-lead-after-first-round-553107.html Cromwell USA June 21 Akshay Bhatia an IndianAmerican was lying Tiedsecond after the first round of the Travelers Championship Bhatia shot 6under 64 as Koreas Tom Kim fired his lowest score of the season with a blistering 8under 62 for a twoshot lead Making his tournament debut Bhatia was bogeyfree with four birdies and an eagle while Kim also bogeyfree had eight birdies This was Bhatias fourth round of 64 or better this season and by winning this event he is hoping to become the third lefthanders who have won this event in the last 25 years after Phil Mickelson 2001 2002 Bubba Watson 2010 2015 2018Another Indian American Sahith Theegala 71 was T33Bhatia shared the second place with Rickie Fowler Will Zalatoris and Kurt Kitayama who all shot 64s at TPC River Highlands Kim is chasing a fourth PGA TOUR victory on his birthday week and Bhatia is seeking a third PGA Tour win Bhatia won a title last year and one this year just before the MastersKim who turns 22 on Friday put on a stellar show with a hot putter delivering eight birdies and his careerfirst 18hole lead on TOUR ahead of AkshayWorld No 1 Scottie Scheffler was amongst those lying a further stroke back while Hideki Matsuyama of Japan who signed for Boston Common Golf earlier this week for the inaugural TGL presented by SoFi starting next January returned a 66 They were tied for sixthMatsuyama a ninetime PGA TOUR winner ended the first round in tied 13th place after finishing strongly with four birdies over his last five holes while Koreas Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim shot a 67 and 69 respectively Another Korean Byeong Hun An withdrew during the first round due to illness IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-indian-american-akshay-bhatia-tied-second-at-travelers-championship-koreas-tom-kim-in-lead-after-first-round-553107.html Fri, 21 Jun 2024 20:00:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-akshay-tied-second-at-travelers-championship-tom-kim-in-lead-after-rd-1-553108.html Cromwell USA June 21 Akshay Bhatia an IndianAmerican was lying Tiedsecond after the first round of the Travelers Championship Bhatia shot 6under 64 as Koreas Tom Kim fired his lowest score of the season with a blistering 8under 62 for a twoshot lead Making his tournament debut Bhatia was bogeyfree with four birdies and an eagle while Kim also bogeyfree had eight birdies This was Bhatias fourth round of 64 or better this season and by winning this event he is hoping to become the third lefthanders who have won this event in the last 25 years after Phil Mickelson 2001 2002 Bubba Watson 2010 2015 2018Another Indian American Sahith Theegala 71 was T33Bhatia shared the second place with Rickie Fowler Will Zalatoris and Kurt Kitayama who all shot 64s at TPC River Highlands Kim is chasing a fourth PGA TOUR victory on his birthday week and Bhatia is seeking a third PGA Tour win Bhatia won a title last year and one this year just before the MastersKim who turns 22 on Friday put on a stellar show with a hot putter delivering eight birdies and his careerfirst 18hole lead on TOUR ahead of AkshayWorld No 1 Scottie Scheffler was amongst those lying a further stroke back while Hideki Matsuyama of Japan who signed for Boston Common Golf earlier this week for the inaugural TGL presented by SoFi starting next January returned a 66 They were tied for sixthMatsuyama a ninetime PGA TOUR winner ended the first round in tied 13th place after finishing strongly with four birdies over his last five holes while Koreas Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim shot a 67 and 69 respectively Another Korean Byeong Hun An withdrew during the first round due to illness IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-akshay-tied-second-at-travelers-championship-tom-kim-in-lead-after-rd-1-553108.html Fri, 21 Jun 2024 20:01:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-anvitha-picks-up-title-on-her-second-pro-start-in-the-8th-leg-of-wpgt-552841.html Bengaluru June 20 Anvitha Narender who held at least a share of the lead from the opening round completed a comprehensive sevenshot win in the eighth leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Bangalore Golf Club In only her second professional tournament the New Jerseyborn golfer who was T8 on her debut a week earlier shot three fine rounds in the 60s for 696568 to total 8under 210 and beat amateur Lavanya Jadon who had a rough start but held on for a round of 73 and finished second at 1under 209Vidhatri Urs who like Anvitha is playing only her second pro event shot the days equal best of 68 despite a finish that had a doublebogey and a bogey at the end Vidhatri who was T3 last week finished third time at even par 210 with cards of 727068Anvitha starting the day with a twoshot lead found herself five ahead after the first three holes despite making only three pars Her playing partner Lavanya who was two behind at the start doublebogeyed the second and bogeyed the third The third player in the lead group Seher Atwal parred the first six holesAnvitha dropped a shot on the Par5 fourth where Lavanya birdied for a twoshot swing However Anvitha fought back with birdies on the sixth and the eighth and seemingly ran away with further birdies on the 12th and the 13th As the players found the going tough in the closing stages Anvitha could afford bogeys on the 14th and the 17th though she had a birdie in between on the 16thWith a final round of 68 she coasted to a comfortable sevenshot win as Lavanya had three bogeys and two birdies on the back nineVidhatri after a bogey start made a charge with five birdies in the next eight holes including three in a row from eighth to the tenth Five pars and a birdie on the 16th put her second behind Anvitha but a double bogey and a bogey on last two holes dropped her to third place as Lavanya ended second with three pars at the endSeher had a rough back nine with four bogeys on a tough scoring day Another amateur Saanvi Somu from Bengaluru shot 1over 71 and was tied fourth with the experienced Seher Atwal who dropped four bogeys in her last seven holes in a card of 3over 73 and a total of 2over 212The 2023 Hero Order of Merit winner Sneha Singh who had a share of the lead after the first day began in a disastrous manner with four bogeys in her first seven holes She had one birdie and another bogey in a round of 74 and was sixth at 6over 216Gaurika Bishnoi winner last week also dropped shots at the tough closing holes as she finished bogeybogey for 70 and was Tied7th with Snigdha Goswami 74 who had four bogeys and no birdies Four players Amandeep Drall 69 Jahaanvie Walia 70 Agrima Manral 71 and Rhea Jha 74 one of the coleaders after Day 1 ended in a tie for ninth place The leader Hitaashee Bakshi who finished 14th stayed in the lead on the Hero Order of Merit IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-anvitha-picks-up-title-on-her-second-pro-start-in-the-8th-leg-of-wpgt-552841.html Thu, 20 Jun 2024 21:20:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/anvitha-amateur-lavanya-among-4-sharing-lead-in-8th-leg-of-wpgt-552245.html Bengaluru June 18 Anvitha Narender who turned pro only last week and Sneha Singh the 2023 Order of Merit leader were among the four coleaders at the end of the first day of the eighth leg of the Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Bangalore Golf Club Anvitha and Sneha shared the lead with Rhea Jha and amateur Lavanya Jadon with 1under 69 each They were followed by Seher Atwal who shot even par while three others amateur Saanvi Somu Gaurabi Bhowmick and Snigdha Goswami carded 1over 71 each on a crowded leaderboard Vidhatri Urs third on her pro debut last week was among three players at T9 with 2over 72 The other two were Disha Kavery and Rhea Purvi SaravananA week after new pro Vidhatri had taken the firstround lead in the seventh leg Anvitha also playing only her second event as a pro found herself in the lead bunch after 18 holesAnvitha had a birdie on the ninth and a bogey on the 10th and then birdied 16 and 18 with a dropped shot in between on the 17th spot Rhea Jha had four birdies including two on the 16th and the 17th but also had three bogeys while Sneha had six birdies including two on the first two holes and five bogeys two of them on the two closing holes for her 69Lavanya Jadon who has been showing a lot of promise on the amateur circuit dropped a double bogey on the second and a bogey on the fourth to be 3over after four holes She staged a fine comeback with five birdies to get to 2under before a late bogey on the tough Par5 17th pulled her back to 1underSeher had three each of birdies and bogeys and was just one behind the leading quartetLast weeks winner Gaurika Bishnoi who had two birdies on the front nine dropped two double bogeys on the 12th and the 14th and closed with a bogey on the 18th for a 3over 73Hitaashee Bakshi dashing in from the Singapore Ladies Masters where she was third on Sunday had a rough day Arriving late for a practice round on Monday she had seven pars to begin with as she missed a few makeable birdie puttsThen she went out of bounds on the Par5 eighth and had a triple bogey followed by a bogey Two more bogeys on the 17th and the 18th meant she was sixover and without a birdie on the card She was T22nd IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/anvitha-amateur-lavanya-among-4-sharing-lead-in-8th-leg-of-wpgt-552245.html Tue, 18 Jun 2024 23:14:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-in-form-gaurika-hitaashee-are-ready-for-battle-in-the-8th-leg-of-wpgt-551969.html Bengaluru June 17 The inform Gaurika Bishnoi who won the seventh leg with a dramatic finish last week will take on the Order of Merit leader HItaashee Bakshi in the eighth leg of the Hero Womens Pro Golf Tour Hitaashee who flew straight from Singapore after a superb thirdplace finish at the Singapore Ladies Masters returns after missing out last week due to her international commitmentIt will be a very strong field with Amandeep Drall Sneha Singh Khushi Khanijau and Vidhatri Urs who on her pro debut last week showed that she is ready for the bigger starsJasmine Shekar who was runnerup last week will be hoping to get a breakthrough win after numerous close calls Vidhatri who led after the first round finally ended in a tie for thirdAlso in the field is Seher Atwal who was unfortunately disqualified on technicality despite making the cut last week in SingaporeTwo very promising amateurs Saanvi Somu and Keerthana Rajeev who have played on the National teams chosen by the Indian Golf Union are also in the frayA total of 41 players including six amateurs will be competing in the eighth leg at the Bangalore Golf Club this week after competing in Mysuru last week where Gaurika pulled off a great win with birdies in each of the last three holes IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-in-form-gaurika-hitaashee-are-ready-for-battle-in-the-8th-leg-of-wpgt-551969.html Mon, 17 Jun 2024 23:32:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-dechambeau-edges-mcilroy-for-second-us-open-title-551831.html Pinehurst US June 17 Americas Bryson DeChambeau won the US Open golf championships by one stroke squashing Rory McIlroys chance to end a 10year wait for a major title He capped off a 1overpar 71 for a 72hole total of 6under 274 DeChambeau who carried a threeshot advantage into Sundays final round survived a wild back nine that saw him lose the lead to fourtime major champion McIlroy before executing a perfect bunker shot from 54 yards on the par4 18th hole to 4 feetIt came some 15 minutes after McIlroy lipped out a 4foot par putt for his third bogey over his final four holes dropping him one shot behind DeChambeauI dont know what to think it hasnt fully sunk in yet I just want everybody to enjoy it as well As much as it is heartbreaking for some people it was heartbreak for me at the PGA I really wanted this one DeChambeau told the assembled media as quoted by the tournament websiteWhen I turned the corner and saw I was a couple back I said Nope Im not going to let that happen I have to focus on figuring out how to make this happen I was a little lucky Rory didnt make a couple putts that he could have coming in I had an amazing upanddown on the last I dont know what else to say Its a dream come true he addedThe 30yearold joined a select group of 23 golfers who have won multiple US Open titles a list that includes Ben Hogan Bob Jones Jack Nicklaus Tiger Woods and fellow Mustang StewartLike Nicklaus and Woods he also owns US Amateur and NCAA individual crowns to go along with his National Open victories according to tournament statsFellow American Tony Finaus finalround 67 matched the days lowest round and earned him a careerbest tie for third with compatriot Patrick Cantlay at 4under 276Cantlay an eighttime PGA Tour winner still seeking a first major title fired a 70 while Matthieu Pavon the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open champion who had never been in a finalround final pairing in a major posted a 71 for solo fifth at 277Hideki Matsuyama the 2021 Masters champion finished sixth 278 after a finalround 70 Russell Henley and world no 2 Xander Schauffele tied for seventh at 1under 279 after shooting 67 and 68 respectively IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-dechambeau-edges-mcilroy-for-second-us-open-title-551831.html Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:56:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-dechambeau-three-ahead-of-mcilroy-bhatia-t-16-at-us-open-551611.html Pinehurst USA June 16 Rory McIlroy was in contention to end his 10year Major drought as he was tied second with two others but Bryson DeChambeau took the threeshot lead in the round 3 at the US Open golf Championships DeChambeau the US Open champion in 2020 carded 3underpar 67 for a 54hole total of 7under 203 He took a threeshot lead into the final round over Rory McIlroy 69 Patrick Cantlay 70 and Matthieu Pavon 69In the time since he won his last Major in 2014 McIlroy had been runnerup three times been third once and has been in Top5 four other times In eight Majors starts in 2022 and 2023 he was in Top8 seven times and missed the cut once at the 2023 Masters This year he was T22 at Masters and T12 at PGAThe top Asians are Hideki Matsuyama 70 in Tiedfifth and Tom Kim 71 in T9Aaron Rai of England whose parents have an Indian connection was T12 after a third round 68 while Indian American Akshay Bhatia 73 is T16 and Sahith Theegala 72 is T47DeChambeau who is now so different from the bulkedup golfer he was when he won the US Open in 2020 unleased the same power despite needing trainers to work on his tight hips He delivered a 347yard drive soon after and it fetched him a birdie too He shot 3under 67 and set up a threeshot leadGetting along well with the crowds DeChambeau was in full flow and entertained the spectators too Now he is 7under 203 and the only player to post three straight rounds of 60s in a US Open at Pinehurst No 2DeChambeau was runnerup by one shot last month in the PGA Championship and he had a top 10 at the Masters in AprilSwedish sensation Ludvig Aberg who started the third round with a oneshot lead made a triple on the 13th and fell back into tied fifth Hideki Matsuyama 70 They are five behind DeChambeauMcIlroy birdied third bogeyed sixth and bogeyed ninth to turn in 1under On the back nine he birdied the 12th and the 14th and dropped a bogey on the 15th and the 17th in a roller coaster of a round for 69No Asian has won the US Open but Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama showed his resilience to remain in contention after an evenpar 70 which left him five shots behind third round leader DeChambeauThe 32yearold Matsuyama traded four birdies against as many bogeys at Pinehurst No 2 including one at the last hole for tied fifth place on 2under 208Korean phenomenon Tom Kim also fought valiantly posting a 71 which included five birdies four bogeys and a double bogey to lie in a tie for ninth place on 210Collin Morikawa remarkably had a bogeyfree round with a 66 that took him from a tie to 51st to just inside the top 10Scottie Scheffler the No 1 player who had to settle for a 71 played his fourth straight round over par going back to Sunday at the Memorial Tournament IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-dechambeau-three-ahead-of-mcilroy-bhatia-t-16-at-us-open-551611.html Sun, 16 Jun 2024 12:30:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-in-t-10-at-us-open-theegala-scheffler-make-cut-as-woods-misses-out-551446.html North Carolina June 15 Even as many big names suffered a lot at the tough Pinehurst No 2 Akshay Bhatia playing only his second US Open held his nerve to overcome two early bogeys to card 1over 71 He is Tiedninth at the halfway stage of the 124th US Open A twotime PGA Tour winner the IndianAmerican Bhatias parents are Indian but he was born and brought up in the US He is 1under for 36 holes with 6871The other similar IndianAmerican Sahith Theegala improved on his first round of 77 by eight shots for a 68 and squeezed inside the cutline alongside Major winners like world No 1 Scottie Scheffler 7174 and Brooks Koepka 7075 They were all Tied57th as the cut fell at 5overLeading the field is the Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg who shot a 69 to hold a onestroke lead on 5under 135 from Bryson DeChambeau 6769 Thomas Detry 6967 and Patrick Cantlay 6571 who are all at 4under 136Rory McIlroy seeking a fifth career major and first in 10 years is amongst those on 137 following a 72 He is TiedfifthMeanwhile the legendary Tiger Woods missed the cut with rounds of 7473Aberg is a firsttime at the US Open after having made his debuts at the Masters with a runnerup finish and missing the cut at the PGA Championship earlier this year This is only his third Major startAberg has positioned himself potentially to be the first player to win the US Open on debut since Francis Ouimet in 1913Asian stars Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Koreas Tom Kim fought their way into title contention after cards of 4under 66 and 2under 68 propelled them into solo eighth and tied ninth respectively in the second roundMatsuyama the 2021 Masters Tournament champion fired the days low round featuring four birdies without a bogey to sit on 2under 138 at Pinehurst No 2Kim a threetime PGA Tour winner racked up five birdies against three bogeys for a 139 total as he looks to improve on last years eighth place finish in the years third major Compatriots SH Kim and Si Woo Kim posted matching 72s for tied 21st and equal 37th respectivelyNo Asian player has won the US Open since its inception in 1895 Matsuyama a ninetime Tour winner and Kim will carry the challenge over the weekend The 32yearold Matsuyama who was a joint runnerup at Erin Hills in 2017 for his best US Open finish credited his short game for his rise up the leaderboard in one of the toughest tests of the yearThe 21yearold Kim who is competing in his seventh straight week intends to keep his foot on the pedal in his chase for major glory The 21yearold enjoyed a seasons first top10 at the RBC Canadian Open a few weeks ago and intends to improve on his 23rd place finish in his US Open debut in 2022 and tied for eighth last season He feels up to the severe test at Pinehurst Kims best major finish was tied second at last years The Open Championship IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/bhatia-in-t-10-at-us-open-theegala-scheffler-make-cut-as-woods-misses-out-551446.html Sat, 15 Jun 2024 14:52:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-amateur-mahreen-best-among-indians-at-rain-hit-singapore-ladies-masters-551280.html Singapore June 14 Indias 16yearold amateur Mahreen Bhatia got off to a good start on a weatherinterrupted day at the US100000 Singapore Ladies Masters here on Friday Mahreen a medallist at the US Kids European and World Championships was 1under through nine holes She was tiedtenth in the event sanctioned by the China Ladies Professional Golf Association CLPGA The other two Indians in the field Seher Atwal and Hitaashee Bakshi had a tougher day Seher was oneover through six holes and Hitaashee was 2over through eightChinas Cai Danlin was off to a flyer with a 5under 67 and took the clubhouse lead Amateur Ruolin Song of China was second at 4under for the round Thailands Kan Bunnabodee is a further shot back after signing for a 69 at the challenging Laguna Golf ResortOnly half the field had finished as almost four hours of play was lost on account of a threat of lightning and later fading light The remaining players will return early to complete their first roundMahreen starting from the tenth began a bogey on the tenth She got the shot back with a birdie on the secondI was sitting on a difficult par putt when play was stopped said Mahreen When play resumed four hours later she sank the par puttA 12foot birdie putt on the 13th her fourth hole was neutralized by a bogey on the Par4 16th Just before play was called off for the day in fading light she sank a crucial birdie putt on the Par4 18th to go 1underIt was a great experience at this big stage added Mahreen It is going to be a long day tomorrow with possibly 27 holesThe 21yearold Cai a Shenzhen University undergraduate mixed seven birdies against two bogeys to set the early pace Cai holds a oneshot lead over Chinese amateur Song Ruolin who returned with a 68The Singapore Ladies Masters features 132 players from 14 countries IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-amateur-mahreen-best-among-indians-at-rain-hit-singapore-ladies-masters-551280.html Fri, 14 Jun 2024 18:11:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-pranavi-lead-indian-golf-challenge-in-rome-550917.html Rome June 13 Diksha Dagar and Pranavi Urs the two top Indian women on the Ladies European Tour will be in action this week at the Italian Open Golf alongside Tvesa Malik Vani Kapoor and Ridhima Dilawari at Golf Nazionale Last week Pranavi Urs finished in Top10 for the third time this season and has been progressing well in her rookie season At one stage two weeks ago Pranavi had a winning chance with a lead but late mistakes cost her a possible winDiksha Dagar had a missed cut in the Scandinavian Open Mixed where she was the lone Indian alongside Shubhankar Sharma in the mens section It has been a modest season for Diksha as compared to a spectacular one in 2023 when she won once and came close to doing so at the Hero Womens Indian Open at homeIn the latest standings on the Ladies European Tour Diksha is 11th and Pranavi lies 13th with more than half the season still leftTvesa Malik who lost her card this year has been showing better form and picked up a Top10 recently Vani Kapoor has had a less than average season for her potential Ridhima Dilawari who has been getting limited starts will be hoping for a better one in RomeItalys top woman player Alessandro Fanali is hoping to go one better than she did as an amateur last time in 2022 She is looking to make history by becoming her nations first player to take the famous trophyThe 300000 Euros event returns after a gap of one year and the previous winner was Morgane Metraux IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-pranavi-lead-indian-golf-challenge-in-rome-550917.html Thu, 13 Jun 2024 17:16:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/hitaashee-seher-and-amateur-mahreen-to-tee-off-in-singapore-ladies-masters-550922.html Singapore June 13 Three Indians including one amateur will tee off at the second edition of the Singapore Ladies Masters The 132player event to be played over 54 holes carries a purse of USD 100000 The three Indians in the field are Hitaashee Bakshi current leader on the Hero Womens Pro Golf Tour 2024 Order of Merit in India Seher Atwal and amateur Mahreen Bhatia one of the Indias promising juniors who has medals from US Kids European and World Championships and the Faldo SeriesThe 19yearold Hitaashee Bakshi who won on the local Tour three times in 2022 was down with injuries in 2023 when she played a few events but did not win Now in 2024 she is looking fit and raring to go She has a full card on Thailand LPGA where she won the Qualifying School and has also played on Taiwan LPGA In four starts outside India she has had all four Top20 finishesAmateur Mahreen Bhatia just 16 wants to play as many higher quality events as possible She has got a spot following a stellar performance on the US kids Golf India with whom Lyn Yeo Organiser of the Singapore Ladies Masters and founder of the LLD Sports has an arrangementHitaashee said I lost a lot of time in 2023 due to injuries and now that I am fit and playing well I want to try and play as much as I can I got an invite here and before that I played three events on the Thai LPGA where I won the QSchool I also played in a Taiwan LPGA event which was held in the PhilippinesIt is tough but I am willing to work my way up The Laguna Golf Resort is a fantastic course I have played it in the past as an amateur and I love the course The greens are amazing nice and quick said Hitaashee who also revealed that the money she makes in India is used to play in international eventsMahreen Bhatia is playing alongside professionals outside India for the first time She added It is a great opportunity for me and I have a lot of golf coming up in the next few months So I am looking forward to this weekThe USD 100000 Singapore Ladies Masters in 2023 was won by Singapores Shannon Tan who turned pro six months later and won on the Ladies European Tour where she is now a regularLyn Yeo tournament organiser said We are encouraged by Indian participation last year and once again this time We would love to have more Indians in the Singapore Ladies Masters and CLPG QSeries which is a combined event for amateurs and pros young men amateurs are also allowed This helps players improve their world rankings for other eventsIt has always been our dream to produce champions I managed to fulfil that last year with Shannon Tan winning last year and she is on the LET and is going to the OlympicsThe last years winner will be in this years Olympics Who knows where this winner will do added Yeo IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/hitaashee-seher-and-amateur-mahreen-to-tee-off-in-singapore-ladies-masters-550922.html Thu, 13 Jun 2024 17:18:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-shubhankar-lies-t-26-diksha-fails-to-make-cut-in-scandinavian-mixed-549747.html Helsingborg Sweden June 9 Shubhankar Sharma who shot 6969 in his first two rounds dropped a triple bogey on way to 1under 71 in the third round of the Scandinavian Mixed The only Indian woman in the field Diksha Dagar missed the cut with 7573Sharma was cruising well at threeunder through the first eight holes with four birdies against one lone bogey Then he hit his tee shot into the water on the Par4 13th and also went into deep roughHe finally ended with a triple bogey A birdie on the next hole Par3 14th was a small consolation as he carded 71 He was 7under for three rounds and Tied26thSwedens Sebastian Soderberg maintained his incredible form with a round of 66 6 He has led from round one once again picked up where he left off with backtoback birdies on holes two and three He birdied the sixth before and the eighth to make the turn in fourunderHe birdied the 12 and the 13 His first bogey of the week followed on the 14th but he rectified that with a birdie on 15 He is 21underpar and held an eightshot advantageScotlands Calum Hill sits in outright second place after producing a round of 67 5 to be eight shots behind Söderberg on 13underparThe Scandinavian Mixed is cosanctioned by the DP World Tour and Ladies European Tour with 78 men and 78 women competing on the same course for one prize fund and one trophy IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-shubhankar-lies-t-26-diksha-fails-to-make-cut-in-scandinavian-mixed-549747.html Sun, 09 Jun 2024 14:36:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-scheffler-leads-with-10-under-206-at-memorial-theegala-seventh-549759.html Dublin June 9 World No1 Scottie Scheffler continued his dominance of the PGA Tour as he moved four shots clear of the field at the Memorial with one round to go Scheffler 71 was at 10under 206 and four ahead of Collin Morikawa 68 Adam Hadwin 72 and Sepp Straka 68IndianAmerican Sahith Theegala after rounds of 7371 on first two days brought in 3under 69 at a difficult Muirfield Village course and rose to T7th after being T20 at the end of the second round The other Indian American Akshay Bhatia 75 slipped from T7 to T18In the third round Scheffler had a triple bogey when he went out of bounds in his 1under 71 He also had six birdies to make a good recovery and pull away from the fieldHe is now in line for his fifth title of the season which includes wins at the 20234 Masters and the PlayersRory McIlroy 73 was lying T11 and eight shots behind Scheffler while Xander Schauffele 71 was in the bunch tied at fifth placeMorikawa will be in the final group with Scheffler just as he was at the Masters He is a past champion at Muirfield Village in the 2020 Workday Charity OpenDefending champion Viktor Hovland was in the fray till he went into water on the par5 11th for bogey He also bogeyed the 12th and the 13th and the 14th He birdied the 15th but again went into the water off the tee on the par3 16th for a triple bogeyIn the stretch between 11th and 16th he had four bogeys a triple bogey and one birdie His back nine 42 for a round of 77 saw him drop to T14 and he is nine behind the leader Scheffler IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-scheffler-leads-with-10-under-206-at-memorial-theegala-seventh-549759.html Sun, 09 Jun 2024 14:53:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-misses-cut-in-scandinavian-mixed-open-sharma-lies-t-20-549558.html Helsingborg June 8 Diksha Dagar was unable to make up ground in the second round and missed the cut at the Scandinavian Mixed Open Diksha who shot 7573 was 4over and the cut fell at 2under This was a rare miss for Diksha the twotime LET winner who was also third at H Hero Womens Indian Open She had three birdies in the second round but also gave away four bogeys Earlier she had one birdie and three bogeys on the first dayThis was Olympic bound Dikshas second missed cut in the entire season during which she has had three Top10 finishes Her last missed cut was in February in Saudi ArabiaShubhankar Sharma who had a superb start in the first round with three birdies shot 69 in the first round and repeated that in the second In both rounds he had five birdies against two bogeys to be 6under When the second round finally ended late in the evening he was Tied20Swede Sebastian Söderberg leads the field with 6366 at 15under and is way ahead of the field The closest rival was Scott Jamieson 6765 at 12under Lying third was Frenchman Julien Guerrier 6964 at 11underJorge Campillo 6867 was lying fourth at 9under with 6867 alongside three Swedes the 2022 champion Linn Grant 6768 the leading woman player Jesper Svensson 6867 and Jens Danthorp 6867Soderberg 33 had seven birdies and an eagle in the first round and then added four birdies and an eagle in the second He was bogey free for 36 holesThe innovative Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed is cosanctioned by the DP World Tour and Ladies European Tour with 78 men and 78 women competing on the same course for one prize fund and one trophy IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-misses-cut-in-scandinavian-mixed-open-sharma-lies-t-20-549558.html Sat, 08 Jun 2024 16:56:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-opens-with-75-and-lies-way-back-shubhankar-off-to-good-start-in-sweden-549128.html Helsingborg Sweden June 6 Diksha Dagar ran into a terrible patch around the middle of her round and ended up with a card of 3over 75 on the first day of the Volvo Scandinavian Open Diksha teed off from the tenth and had four bogeys against one lone birdie She bogeyed 15th 16th and the 18th A birdie came her way on the fourth and then again there was a bogey on the seventh She ended with a disappointing day of 75 and will need a very low round to make the cutThe Scandinavian Open is a mixed event with 78 men from the DP World Tour playing alongside 78 women from the Ladies European Tour for a common prize poolIn the mens section the lone Indian Shubhankar Sharma also teed off from the tenth However he had a great start with three birdies in a row from the 10th to the 12th Three pars later she bogeyed the Par4 16th and was 2under through seven holesSouth Africas Dylan Frittelli led the field with a bogeyfree 7under 65 and he was chased by Malaysias Gavin Green who shot 66 with eight birdies and two bogeysThe top woman player was local Swede Linn Grant a past winner of the tournament with 5under 67 and she was tied with Scottish duo Scott Jamieson and David Law and Lauren Walsh of Ireland IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/golf-diksha-opens-with-75-and-lies-way-back-shubhankar-off-to-good-start-in-sweden-549128.html Thu, 06 Jun 2024 23:37:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-continues-preparation-for-the-paris-olympics-tees-up-at-mixed-event-in-scandinavian-open-548884.html Helsingborg Sweden June 5 Diksha Dagar continues her busy schedule with a second straight week in Helsingborg Sweden for the unique mixed event at the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed Last week she played in the Dormy Open in the same town and finished T13 at the Allerum Golf Club This week the event will be at the Vasatorps Golfklubb The event is cosanctioned by both the Ladies European Tour and the DP World Tour The LET and the DPWT will see 78 men and 78 women playing in the same groups for one prize fund and one trophy While Diksha plays in the womens section Shubhankar Sharma will figure in the mens event Sharma was T58 last year but missed the cut in 2021 and 2022However Diksha the Herosupported star headed to the Paris Olympics has missed the cut in the event in recent editions She will be looking to reverse her fortunes Now it forms part of her preparation for the Paris Games This season Diksha has had Top10s in Lalla Meryem and Joburg Ladies However in the last seven starts she has not been in the top 10 but has been consistent in staying in the top 25 in five of her last seven startsLater this season Diksha will play at two Majors at Evian and AIG Open besides the Paris Olympics She will also play in the Scottish Open The tournament will see 156 players teeing it up in a 72hole stroke play format with a cut to the top 65 professionals and ties after 36 holesLinn Grant who made history by winning the 2022 Scandinavian Mixed is back in her hometown of Helsingborg Grant is a fivetime winner on the LET and also won the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol she will be teeing it up in her second LET start of the year IANS https://dailyworld.in/golf/diksha-continues-preparation-for-the-paris-olympics-tees-up-at-mixed-event-in-scandinavian-open-548884.html Wed, 05 Jun 2024 23:32:00 +0530