Astha Madan Finishes 7th, Diksha Dagar 21st to Ensure Starts at Ladies European Tour
Lack of hearing was no barrier on the golf course for Diksha Dagar, who finished tied 21st, while Astha Madan was seventh in the final stage of Ladies European Tour Qualifying School, ensuring a fair number of starts next year.
Marrakesh, Dec 22 (PTI) Lack of hearing was no barrier on the golf course for Diksha Dagar, who finished tied 21st, while Astha Madan was seventh in the final stage of Ladies European Tour Qualifying School, ensuring a fair number of starts next year.
Madan, 22, who hails from Gurgaon but graduated from the Sacramento State University, turned pro in July and played on the Indian domestic circuit.
She began the week by shooting seven-under 65 to lead after the first round and ended the five-round qualifiers with a round of six-under 66 to finish at 10-under 350 at the Amelkis Golf Club in the Moroccan city.
Seventeen-year-old southpaw Dagar, who has a hearing impairment and using hearing aids since she was six, was tied 21st following a final round of five-under 67, her best of the week and finished at three-under 357.
Astha would still be ruing her nightmarish nine and quadruple bogey on the 10th hole in the second round, but for which she would have finished fifth and earned a start in more events.
She shot 65, 69 and 66 in the three rounds at the Amelkis and had rounds of 74 and 76 at the tougher Palm Golf Club, Ourika.
By virtue of finishing between sixth and 25th places, the Indian duo earned membership in Category 8, which will give them a good number of starts, but not all on the Tour in 2019.
Among other Indians, Tvesa Malik (74) compiled two-over 362 to be tied 45th, Vani Kapoor (71) was tied 53rd and Sharmila Nicollet (75) was tied 62nd. They will get membership in Category 9b and will get a few starts.
Only players in top 5 receive the membership in Category 5c, which gets them a start in almost all the events on the LET calendar next year.
A total of 68 players made the 72-hole cut, which fell at five-over-par. India's Ridhima Dilawari and Saaniya Sharma, who did make the final stage failed to make that cut and finished tied 88th and tied 105th.
England's 23-year-old Bronte Law set a new record at Lalla Aicha Tour School with a winning five-round total of 26-under-par. After rounds of 70, 71, 62, 64 and 67, she finished one stroke ahead of Sweden's Linnea Ström, who ended with a final round of 66 at the Amelkis.
Germany's 20-yar-old Esther Henseleit finished in third on 18-under-par after a final round of 64, which included nine birdies and one bogey. England's Sian Evans, 27, who works full-time as a PGA professional at Kings Hill Golf Club in Kent, and used crowd-funding to get to the Final stage, finished in fourth place on 16-under-par.
In a play-off against Sarah Nilsson for fifth spot, Ireland's Leona Maguire holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole, the 10th, to secure the fifth and final card in Category 5C. Nilsson was sixth.
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