Saptak Talwar finished tied-7th at the qualifier in Thailand
23-year-old Saptak Talwar, a US college graduate who has played on the Canadian Tour last couple of years, turned out to be the only Indian player out of 10 candidates, to make it to the final stage of the 2023 Asian Tour qualifying. He shot 70-67-71-72 (8-under 280) to finish 7th at Blue Canyon CC in Phuket, Thailand and will now compete on Jan. 18-22 in Hua Hin.
“It was a battle all week long,” Talwar said. “I didn’t have my best stuff the last two days but luckily had given myself a cushion and fought hard today after being +4 thru 3 to advance to the final stage.”
24 players advanced to the Final Stage but Talwar was the only Indian among them. He was playing in his first Asian Tour qualifier after being in North America for the past few years.
The 9 Indians who missed qualifying were Samarth Dwivedi, Yashas Chandra, Aadil Bedi, Varun Parikh, Arjun Prasad, Dhruv Sheoran, Arjun Puri, Vasu Sehgal and Gurbaaz Mann.
The Final Qualifying Tournament will take place from January 18 to 22 over five rounds. The top 140 (and ties) after 36 holes will progress to rounds three and four and the top 70 players (and ties) after 72 holes will play in the pivotal final round. At the conclusion of 90 holes, the top 35 will be ranked accordingly for the 2023 Asian Tour season which is expected to be its most lucrative ever with the Saudi backed Asian Tour International Series featuring more than 12 events of US$1.5 Million or above.
Credits:-
Photo – Saptak Talwar