Nishtha Madan wraps up maiden pro outing at Scottsdale

By Rahul Banerji

Nishtha Madan rounded off her maiden professional outing on the Cactus Tour at Scottsdale, Arizona, with a middling finish in an event won by Germany’s Sophia Popov.

It was Popov’s third win on the Cactus Tour and she closed out the three-day event by a handsome, four-shot margin over Riley Rennel. Britney Yada took a share of third alongside Cheyenne Woods and two others.

Amateur Anika Varma did not have her best outing on the Tour, where she has racked up some impressive finished including a tied second , taking a share of 23^rd place, while Nishtha was 17^th overall.

Nishtha, 21, had rounds of 71, 74 and 79 for an 8-over 224 aggregate, the final day’s 7-over denting her card after a bright start. Anika finished 13-over 229 (76-78-75) at the Troon North Golf Club’s Pinnacle course..

European Tour to resume

Meanwhile, the European Tour has announced a limited, closed-doors resumption of its schedule interrupted since March 8 by the corona-virus pandemic that still has the globe in its grip.

The Tour announced on Thursday that the first six events would all be played between late July and all through August for which dates and venues have been fixed in what has been termed the “UK Swing”.

Thereafter, tournaments will run through till December giving rise to the chances that the Hero Indian Open 2020 will after all be held this year after a long period of uncertainty over its scheduling.

The British Masters from July 22 to 25 at Close House is the first tournament and will be followed by five new events in August, the European Tour said.

They are the English Open at Forest of Arden (July 30 to August 2), the English Championship at Hanbuy Manor (August 6 to 9), the Celtic Classic at Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales (August 13 to 16), and the Wales Open also at Celtic Manor (August 20 to 23).

The Swing will conclude with the UK Championship at The Belfry, a venue rich in Ryder Cup history, having played host to four contests. Europe have won twice (in 1985 and 2002), the US in 1993, with the 1989 match ending in a 14-14 tie.

Further details later

Details of subsequent tournaments on the European Tour from September through to November will be announced in due course, with a variety of scheduling options currently under consideration as the global situation continues to evolve, the Tour noted.

However, rescheduled dates have been announced for four Rolex Series events; the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club which now takes place from October 8 to 11 and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club which moves to the following week, October 15 to 18.

There are also new dates for the final two tournaments of the year.

Race to Dubai

The Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player is now scheduled for December 3 to 6 at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City. The season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, will be held from December 10 to 13 at Jumeirah Golf Estates, where the 2020 Race to Dubai champion will be crowned.

As part of the changes to the end of the 2020 season caused by the impact of Covid-19, the Tour’s Tournament Committee recently agreed that all members’ 2020 Categories, and their ranking within that category, will be retained in 2021 with related playing rights being protected to the absolute maximum possible in the 2021 season, the European Tour added.

Also read: Anika back on Cactus trail with pro debutant Nishtha Madan