Avani is T39 after round 1 of Augusta National Women’s Amateur

By Rahul Banerji

Bangalore teenager Avani Prashanth was in a share of 39^th place on 4-over par 76 after the opening round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on Wednesday.

Thursday’s second round remains stalled by the weather at the time of writing.

Avani, the first Indian to be invited to the prestigious ANWA which is in its third edition, needs to finish inside the top 30 to play the final round.

That will be at the Augusta National Golf Club itself, with the first two rounds being played at the nearby Champions Retreat Golf Club.

Besides Avani, the 72-strong field at the ANWA includes Indian-American Megha Ganne and Savannah Grewal of Canada,

Ganne, who created waves at the US Women’s Open last June, is tied ninth on 1-over 73 with Grewal well down the order.

Avani is tied 39th alongside world no. 1 Rose Zhang of the United States with Italy’s Benedetta Moesco leading the field on 2-under 70 alongside Anna Davis of the US after the completed first round.

Eye-catching

Avani, who holds the national women’s and girls’ championships, was invited to the ANWA on the basis of her performance at the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific in Abu Dhabi last November.

The 15-year-old from Bangalore was the best-finishing home based Indian at the event that saw the US-based Anika Varma post a top-10 finish at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

“Once I am on the LPGA, it will be difficult to get opportunities to play Augusta since it only hosts a men’s professional event,” Avani told teetimetales.com in January after receiving her ANWA invitation.

“So this will be a rare chance and I am really excited to go there

“Usually, the top amateurs get invited and I have not been playing that many tournaments except the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific where I finished 16^th and only the winner qualifies.

“So, it was a real nice surprise when I got the invitation.”

“If I play the way I am now especially on the greens, I’m capable of winning the tournament,” the confident teenager added. 

Also read: Augusta comes calling for national champ Avani Prashanth