Kshitij cracks top 10 in Indonesia
Kshitij Naveed Kaul has registered five top-10s and a win in 2022
The strapping 6 foot 3 inch tall, 21-year-old Kshitij Kaul from New Delhi shot 69-66-66-73 (14-under 274) to finish tied for ninth at the US$ 110,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event in Indonesia last week after lying 4th at 15 under, four shots behind the leader, going into the final round. However a poor back nine the final day dropped him to 9th.
Kshitij, who has been a PGTI winner and has several top 10’s to his credit is known for a slightly unconventional swing based on the theory of The Golfing Machine followed most famously by big hitting Bryson DeChambeau. Kshitij has a record of posting a top-10 finish on the PGTI at age 14 at The Oxford Western India Open.
Yashas Chandra, another winner on the PGTI finished on 13-under 275 to finish 12th.
Other Indians who failed to make the cut line set at 1-under 143 included:
Udayan Mane – 71-73 (144)
Yuvraj Singh Sandhu – 73-74 (147)
Vani 19th in Sweden
Vani keeps up with her form in Sweden
Vani Kapoor enjoying a strong run of form in Europe finished strongly with 72-66-67 (2-under 205) to finish tied 19th at the US$ 250,000 Skafto Open in Sweden.
The diminutive 29-year-old pro from Gurgaon, last month recorded her best ever finish on the Ladies European Tour when she finished 3rd after sharing the lead starting the final round of the Big Green Egg Open in the Netherlands.
Amandeep Drall shot 70-70-67 (Even-par 207) to finish tied for 26th, followed by Tvesa Malik 71-69-69 (2-over 209) at T38th and Diksha Dagar 69-71-72 (5-over 212) at T59th.
Other Indians who failed to make the cut at 3-over 141 included –
Neha Tripathi – 73-69 (4-over 142)
Ridhima Dilawari – 72-75 (9-over 147)
Amandeep Drall, Tvesa Malik, Vani Kapoor, Ridhima Dilawari, Neha Tripathi & Diksha Dagar will now head to Finland to play the US$ 250,000 Aland Ladies Open from Sep. 1-3.
Shubhankar Sharma continues to struggle
Shubhankar Sharma has made cuts in 6 out of 18 events this season
Shubhankar Sharma, who is having a mixed season, shot 71-70 (1-over 141) to miss the cut set at 2-under 139 at US$ 2mn Omega European Masters in Switzerland. It was his fifth missed cut in a row. The last time Sharma made a cut was in May at the Dutch Open.
Despite his recent struggles, the 26-year-old Sharma, who has two European Tour victories, still lies 33rd in the European Tour Rankings thanks to his second place finish in the Rolex Series’ Abu Dhabi event at the start of the year.
Sharma will now head to Denmark for the US$ 3mn Made in Himmerland from Sep. 1-4.
The tournament saw two players make hole-in-ones:
- Aaron Cockerill of Canada on par-3 178 yards, No.3 in the opening round to win CHF 30,000 worth of life insurance provided by Vaudoise Insurances.
HOLE-IN-ONE! @A_Cockerill wins CHF 30,000 worth of life insurance provided by Vaudoise Insurances.#OEM2022 pic.twitter.com/kvDIa8vfvW
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 25, 2022
2. George Coetzee on par-3 195 yards, No. 13 to win an OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M worth CHF 18,400 for his ace during the second round.
HOLE-IN-ONE @gcoetzeegolf wins an OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M worth CHF 18,400 for his ace during the second round.#OEM2022 pic.twitter.com/Cr5vqFULrd
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 27, 2022
25-year-old Thristan Lawrence of South Africa won the tournament, beating English Matt Wallace in a playoff for his second European Tour title.
Lawrence shot 62-64-67-69 (18-under 262) while Wallace shot 64-64-68-66.
Win no.2 of the season @ThristonL #OEM2022 pic.twitter.com/fTRG2zKiT1
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 28, 2022
Aditi Ashok misses cut on LPGA Tour
Aditi Ashok currently ranks 89th on the Race to CME Globe Season
Aditi Ashok shot 72-72 (2-over 144) to miss the cut by four strokes at the US$ 2.35mn CP Women’s Open at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club in Ottawa, Canada.
South African Paula Reto shot 62-69-67-67 (19-under 265) to win the tournament by a stroke over Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Nelly Korda who recorded her 2nd consecutive runner up finish and Hye-Jin Choi at 18-under 266.
Ashok has played in 19 events this year, making 11 cuts and earning US$ 158,750 (₹1.2 crores) to stand 92nd on the season Money List and 89th on the Race to CME Globe Season with 200.75 points.
The top 60 players make it to the tour finals. The current 60th player South Korean Jenny Shin is at 386.32 points, 186 points ahead of Aditi. Minjee Lee of Australia leads the points table at 2502.95.
Last year, Ashok accumulated 440.62 points to finish 74th on the Race to CME Globe Season and $231,225 to finish 74th on the Money List. The Race to CME Globe Season is similar to PGA Tour’s Tour Championship, the only difference is that on the LPGA, top-60 players get to play the finale with US$ 7mn, with US$ 2mn to the winner and US$ 40,000 to the last player in the field.
She will next play at the US$ 1.75mn Dana Open from Sep.1-4 at Highlands Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio.
Smriti Mehra misses cut in Senior debut
Smriti Mehra had topped the senior major qualifier in July
Smriti Mehra, the first Indian pro to play on the LPGA Tour back in 1997, shot disappointing scores of 84-79 to miss the 36-hole cut at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open which were played in super tough conditions, after a great performance in the qualifier which she won with a 74.
Mehra who grew up in Kolkata, also holds the distinction of finishing 6th at the 1998 Women’s British Open and won three times on the LPGA’s development tour and was part of the team that established the Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI), which runs the domestic tour for women’s pro golf in India. (Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour or HWPGT).
Nishtha Madan misses cut on Epson Tour
Nishtha Madan ranks 65th on the Tour’s Money List
Nishtha Madan, the 24-year-old who moved from Gurgaon to the USA, shot 72-73 (1-over 145) to miss the cut at 1-under 143 on the Epson Tour. Madan had made a promising start to the season but has lately seen a dip in form and has now missed eight cuts out of 15 tournaments.
Madan currently lies 65th in the tour standings, with the top 20 earning their playing rights for the LPGA Tour.
The tournament was won by Jillian Hollis who shot 68-66-64 (18-under 198) for her third career victory on the tour.
Madan will next play at the US$ 200,000 Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic in Pendleton Oregon from Sep. 2-4.
Credits:-
Photo – PGTI/LET/LPGA/Smriti Mehra/Epson Tour