By Rahul Banerji
Newly-minted professional Nishtha Madan turned in an opening round of 7-under 65 on the opening day of the 24th Kentucky Women’s Open in Shepherdsville on Tuesday.
Clearly, the young Indian pro likes the setting as she was playing in Kentucky for the first time,
It was close to a flawless round from Nishtha who led by three strokes from Delaney Shah at the Heritage Hill Golf Club in the two-day event.
Nishtha now lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after playing college golf at Sacramento State, the tournament website said.
She is the younger sister of Indian circuit regular Astha Madan.
On the lookout
“I’ve literally just been on the internet looking for tournaments to play in,” Nishtha was quoted as saying.
“I searched state by state looking to see when each Open was and if it had already happened, and this one fell perfectly with my schedule and being able to travel down here.”
Nishtha sank four consecutive birdies to open the round along and then added another four on her way back. A bogey on the par-three 11th hole was the only blemish on her scorecard.
“I drained a lot of putts today,” Nishtha said. “I probably made three or four putts from around 20 feet away, but on top of that I just played steady golf.
“Tomorrow, I just want to keep playing simple golf. I’m not going to try to do anything crazy; just hit fairways and greens and hopefully some putts will fall.”
Shah (68), a Maryland native who now plays collegiately for the University of Louisville, will accompany Madan in the final group for the final round with third placed Carlee Shoemaker (69) on Tuesday, the site noted.
Short list
These three make up half of the six players who shot under par on Tuesday, joining Natalia Sompolvorachai, Lauren Hartlage and Rylee Suttor who will each play in the penultimate group.
In May, Nishtha made her professional debut on the Cactus Tour in Scottsdale, Arizona, with a middling finish in an event won by Germany’s Sophia Popov.
Nishtha, 21, had rounds of 71, 74 and 79 for an 8-over 224 aggregate and a 17th place finish overall.
On the final day, a 7-over dented her card after a bright start which saw her return a 1-under card of 71 at the Troon North Pinnacle course.
Nishtha trains alongside talented amateur Anika Varma with coach Noah Montgomery.
Also read: Nishtha Madan wraps up maiden pro outing at Scottsdale
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