Avani Prashanth was the lone Indian to make the cut in Australia
Two-time All India Ladies champion, 16-year-old Avani Prashanth, shot 79-75-68-75 (5-over 297) to finish tied for sixth at the prestigious Australian Masters of the Amateurs Championship at Southern Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia.
Araki Yuna of Japan shot 67-74-68-71 (12-under 280) to win the title by six shots over her compatriot Mamika Shinchi.
Prashanth was the lone Indian to make the cut. Nishna Patel of Mumbai shot 82-77-75 (15-over 234) to miss the 54-hole cut set at 10-over 229.
Aryan Roopa Anand, the two-time All India Amateur champion, and Shaurya Bhattacharya, the IGU’s top-ranked amateur, represented India in the men’s section. Bhattacharya shot 75-74-71 (4-over 220) to miss the 54-hole cut by a stroke while Anand struggled, shooting 77-81-74 (16-over 232) to miss the cut by a wide margin,
The field for the 2023 Australian Master of the Amateurs Championship consisted of 102 male players and 54 female players.
The 72-hole stroke championships had a cut after 54-holes, which is an interesting departure from the usual 36-hole cut, and could be a fairer model considering the distance players travel these days to participate in tournaments. The top 45 male championship players plus ties and the top 25 female players plus ties, play the final round.
In the coming week, the Indian contingent will participate in the Australian Amateur Championship for both men and ladies.
The IGU sponsored Indian team barely had one day of practice before the previous event,and they showed improvement as the days went by – so we hope to see improved performances in the second week as they get used to the cold and extremely windy conditions that make a difference of 3 to 4 clubs on every shot and even on putts where the ball can be blown off line because of gusts of breeze.