By Rahul Banerji
She could not make more of her overnight tied second place, but Tvesa Malik did enough to bring home a first overseas top-10 finish, at the 2020 Lacoste Ladies Open De France on Saturday.
On a day even day two leader and eventual champion Julia Engstrom barely hung on to her lead at the 200,000 Euro event, the Indian carded a 4-over par 75 that still gave her a share of 10th place.
Four bogeys and no birdies on the final day meant Tvesa let a sizeable bunch through in the standings.
That included joint runner-up, Argentina’s Magdalena Simmermacher, who had the day’s best of 5-under 66, with no dropped shots.
The Gurgaon girl came to the Golf du Medoc’s Chateaux Course with some form behind her from the Ladies European Tour’s Access Series event in Switzerland, where she finished fourth.
Opening with a 1-under 70 and a 68 to follow, she was well placed for a best-ever finish four shots behind Engstrom, but missed out.
Next up for Tvesa are the Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic and Andalucia Open De Espana, both in November.
Valuable outing
Still and all, she will come away from this European sojourn richer in experience and knowledge, given the variety of courses encountered since the Ladies Scottish Open in mid-August.
In five appearances, Tvesa made the cut thrice and had a 20th place finish at the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open two weeks ago with rounds of 70, 72 and 69.
On Saturday, she finished significantly better.
For Engstrom, it was a scramble to get home ahead of former winner Celine Herbin of France and Simmermacher. The four-shot cushion overnight came in very handy indeed as she won by one stroke.
The Swedish teenager too went into blue figures on Saturday with a 1-over par 72, but her lead was still enough for a second LET win, thanks to a strong start.
“I played the front nine very well the entire week,” the 19-year-old told the LET website.
Close call
“I struggled with my ball-striking and had a few bad bounces on the back nine so that was tough, I was trying not to look at the leader-boards.
“It’s been the perfect week, I love this place. I came out here with a good feeling and obviously yesterday’s hole-in-one was a highlight, but the 17th hole was extremely important for me today.
“It was nerve-wracking at the end, but I am relieved to get it done.
“Celine was pushing me hard and I could see she was making birdies so I just tried to keep my head cold.
“This win (after her NSW Open in Australia this March) was different, it is harder to defend. I’ve been in the lead and lost before so for me to get a win with the lead is a huge confident boost.”
Also read: Aditi, Diksha, Tvesa make first-time Indian trio at LPGA event
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