Avani Prashanth reported back to back top-10 results in Australia
Two-time All India Ladies champion, 16-year-old Avani Prashanth, shot 75-73-70-77 (3-over 295) to finish tied for 17th in the Australian Amateur at New South Wales Golf Club & St. Michael’s Golf Club in New South Wales, Australia, easily the best finish ever by an Indian girl at this highly competitive amateur tournament. .
The Japanese girls once again proved they are way ahead of the competition taking the top two spots – Mizuki Hashimoto of Japan shot 70-71-70-73 (11-under 284) to win the title by a shot over her compatriot Saki Baba, the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur winner.
Among the men, Shaurya Bhattacharya, India’s top-ranked amateur, shot 71-70-81-71 (5-over 293) to finish tied for 57th at the tournament. Indian players who missed the 36-hole cut set at 3-over 147 included Aryan Roopa Anand 75-74 (+5), Yuvraj Singh 73-77 (+6) & Milind Soni 76-77 (+9).
The previous week, Prashanth had finished sixth at the prestigious Australian Masters of the Amateurs Championship at Southern Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia.
The field for the 2023 Australian Amateur Championship included 221 male players and 91 female players, with the top-70 males and 38 females advancing to play the final two rounds of the tournament.
The two tournament outing for the top Indian amateurs in gruelling conditions has been an invaluable learning experience and they will surely emerge stronger players as a result.
Credits:-
Photo – Avani Prashanth