By Rahul Banerji
Delhi girl Sifat Sagoo qualified for the semi-finals of the 2021 Women’s Western Amateur at Park Ridge Country Club in Illinois, joining a growing list of Indians making a mark on golf courses worldwide.
Last week, Aditi Ashok and her partner Pajaree Anannarukarn finished third at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, in Michigan.
The Tokyo Olympics-bound 23-year-old is currently in France for the Evian Championship before she flies out to Japan. With 18 appearances, Aditi now has the most Majors under her belt by an Indian.
In Europe Tvesa Malik and Diksha Dagar shook up the leader-board at the Gant Ladies Open in Finland with sustained displays.
While Tvesa was joint runner-up three shots behind winner Matilda Castrens, Diksha tied for fourth place along with Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul and Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord.
Solid progress
Meanwhile, at Park Ridge, Sifat held off Zoe Slaughter, of Houston, Texas, 2-up in the WWA quarter-finals after opening with a 19th-hole play-off win and a more comfortable 4&3 result in the Round of 16.
She next meets Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, of Perth, Australia, who got the better of Lois Kay Go of the Philippines, a 1-up winner over Noida girl Anika Varma in the Round of 32.
The Chandigarh-born Sifat, who finished 22nd at the Asian Games in Jakarta three years ago, is in her second year at Purdue University.
As a newcomer, the 20-year-old from the Heritage School in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj played in all six events for her school as a freshman and is a regular on her Lafayette, Indiana, varsity team.
Held without interruption since its inception in 1901, the Women’s Western Amateur is among the oldest and most prestigious annual championships in women’s amateur golf.
The tournament is conducted jointly by the Women’s Western Golf Association and the Western Golf Association and features the top amateur and collegiate players from across the globe.
More success
Last week, Anika now based in Roseville, California and coached by Noah Montgomery, emerged as a start to finish winner of the American Junior Golf Association’s (AJGA) event in Nevada.
The 16-year-old had rounds of 69-72-70 for a 5-under par total in Reno that saw her climb to 19th place in the Golfweek US Junior Golf Rankings, the highest by an Indian girl so far.
She had earlier finished second at the 71st California Junior Girls’ State Championship in Monterrey.
“I’ve been playing almost non-stop,” she said during the AJGA tournament in Reno.
“I haven’t played a course like this for a really long time. I’ve been playing on little wider courses so this is all about placement and it’s like a different course but I had a lot of fun.
“I played at Monterrey Peninsula about two weeks back and it was 20 miles an hour. After that nothing feels windy for me,” she said about conditions in Nevada.
Also read: Runner-up finish for Anika Varma at California girls’ championship
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