By Rahul Banerji
Tvesa Malik made it a debut to remember on the Ladies PGA Tour with a level par card on day one of the $1.5 million Ladies Scottish Open at the Renaissance course in North Berwick on Thursday.
She then continued her run on Friday and was well poised to make the cut into the weekend rounds despite a horrendous quadruple bogey 9 on the par-5 third hole.
Tvesa survived a further three dropped shots with four birdies on the day to bring in a 3-over 74 card for day two.
It was a good, solid score overall considering the lead rose by just one shot, from 4-under after day one, to 5-under on Friday.
The spunky 25-year-old, playing the co-sanctioned event on the basis of her Ladies European Tour spot, was the best-placed of three Indians in the field in tied 22nd place on a level par 71 on day one.
Tvesa’s 3-over 74 on day two was good enough for a T41 placing (71-74, 145), well clear of the potential cut at 5-over 147.
Rough day
LET and LPGA card holder Aditi Ashok was on 2-over 72 and in a share of 48th place for the first day, but had slipped two shots under the cut line on Friday.
With five holes to go, India’s sole women golf Olympian was on 7-over on Friday, leaving her with an outside chance of making it to the money rounds.
For her part, 2019 South Africa Ladies Open winner Diksha Dagar could not improve on her opening 7-over 78 and finished on 10–over 152 with cards of 78 and 74.
This the first time three Indians are participating in an LPGA tournament together.
Tough conditions
On a first day that saw the lead settle at 4-under 67 suggesting scoring was not easy, Tvesa opened with a bogey but two birdies before the turn ensured she was well on the pace.
Tvesa would pick up a further two shots on her inbound nine, but a late bogey proved to be a setback.
Day two saw the Gurgaon golfer in free fall early on.
Starting with a par, she bogeyed the second hole before a disastrous 4-over nine on the par-5 third hole saw her plummet down the field.
Tvesa though hit back quickly with a fifth-hole birdie and though she dropped a further two shots, three birdies, two of them over the final six holes, pulled her to safety.
Day one saw Aditi and Diksha struggle as well. The former opened with a dropped shot and had three further bogeys but two birdies after the turn saw her recover somewhat.
Two double-bogeys on either side of the turn, however, dented her second day hopes though she still is in with a chance to make it through to the weekend.
Steady showing
Not too far away, at the Celtic Classic in Wales on the men’s European Tour, Shubhankar Sharma was right on the line at 1-under 141 (71-70) on Friday.
The 24-year-old followed his first day level par round of 71 at the Celtic Manor Resort with a 1-under 70 and will now have to wait to see if the cut line shifts with the day winding down.
Shubhankar who missed the cut at last week’s Hero Open in England, balanced four birdies against three dropped shots on day two.
On Thursday,e he mixed four bogeys and as many birdies though he did well to pick up a shot on his closing hole of the first round.
On track
Across the Atlantic, Arjun Atwal looked set to make it through to the weekend after rounds of 2-under 68 and level par 70 at the Wyndham Championship.
Anirban Lahiri was tied 67th on 1-under 69 after his opening round and was yet to tee off on his Friday round
Atwal, who became India’s only PGA Tour title-winner at this event in 2010, had a double-bogey 6 on his last hole of the day (the 17th) that dented his haul of five birdies earlier in the round.
He had one further bogey on the front nine. On day two, he exchanged three birdies for three bogeys to stay in the safety zone
For his part, Anirban made a steady return to competitive golf after a five-month break with two birdies and a bogey on Thursday.
He was alongside England’s Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Wallace and Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand, who will all be out to make a move up the leader-board on day two.
Also read: Aditi, Diksha, Tvesa make first-time Indian trio at LPGA event
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