Tvesa Malik tops as six Indians enter LET Q-School final stage

By Rahul Banerji

Six Indians among eight players in all made the grade in the Ladies European Tour Pre-Qualifier – Asia at the Classic Golf and Country Club on Friday led by Tvesa Malik.

Tvesa took the first step towards regaining status on the LET, as she took top honours with a final round of 2-under 70 and a total of 7-under 209 for the scheduled 54 holes.

The last few groups were out on the course they had to endure a 40-minute stoppage on account of thunder and threat of lightning amidst rain. When play resumed the players handled it well, though the greens became slower, the LET said

Avani Prashanth, who will retain her amateur status till she plays the LET Q-School’s Final stage, shot a 1-over 73 for a total of 4-under 212 and finished second.

Fellow Karnataka player Pranavi Urs, who in 2023 divided her time between various tours ranging from South Africa to the Epson in US and LET, is looking at playing full-time in Europe.

After starting the week with a 4-under 68 she added 75-70 to finish on 3-under 213 and in third place. Pranavi was on the line at 2-over after 13 holes and her total was 1-over for the tournament.

Deal sealed

The projected cut for the qualifiers at that stage looked like coming at 1- or 2-over. Pranavi put the issue beyond doubt with four birdies in a stretch between holes 14 and 18.

A total of eight entrants were assured of a place in the 90-hole five-round Q-School Final in Marrakech.

Following the top three Indians was Singapore’s Sock Hwee Koh (70) in fourth place on 2-under 214.

Durga Nittur (70) and Ridhima Dilawari (73) were tied for fifth place on 1-under 215 while Thailand’s Saraporn Chamchoi (70) and India’s Jasmine Shekar (70) were tied for seventh place.

Tvesa, after struggling with form for a good part of two years, has begun to show signs of a return to form including two wins on the domestic Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour.

“I feel I have begun playing well after putting in a lot of work hard over past few months,” said Tvesa, who finished three shots ahead of Avani, who at 17, is looking to take her first steps into professional golf.

Tvesa added, “I am still working on my game, though the scoring is coming back. It is like work in progress, but for now getting to the Final Stage was the immediate goal. To do that without much fuss felt good.”

Cold putter

Avani was pleased to move into the final qualifying stage but added, “The putting did not work this week, despite the 67 on the second day. The greens seemed rather slow, and the rain did not help. But I stayed focused on getting the job done.”

Pranavi too was happy to get to the Final Stage, more so after flirting with danger at one point in the final round. “I am just looking forward to a couple of other events and then the Final stage,” she said.

Missing out narrowly were Neha Tripathi, Seher Atwal and Ananya Datar, all on 3 over 219 with the qualifying mark falling at 2 over 218.

Also read: Avani, Tvesa into joint round 2 lead at LET’s Pre-Qualifier Asia