LPGA – Aditi 36th in Oregon
Aditi Ashok needs a strong finish to a lacklustre season
Aditi Ashok made her third consecutive cut on the LPGA Tour after a series of misses after shooting 69-71-76-67 (5-under 283) to finish tied-36th at the US$ 1.5mn Portland Classic in Portland, Oregon.
American Andrea Lee shot 72-64-67-66 (19-under 269) to win her maiden LPGA title by a shot over Daniela Darquea 69-67-68-66 (18-under 270) of Columbia. Lee played collegiately for Stanford University between 2016 and 2019. She became the most decorated golfer in school history, setting a school record with nine individual titles and topping the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings. As a freshman in 2016–17, she was WGCA Freshman of the Year, a finalist for WGCA Player of the Year, and a finalist for the Honda Sports Award for golf.
First LPGA Tour win ✅
Watch highlights from #TeamCallaway‘s @andrea_lee54 winning performance in Portland! @PortlandClassic | @CallawayGolf pic.twitter.com/820UzcmW0n
— LPGA (@LPGA) September 19, 2022
In 2019, Lee was semi-finalist at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, and won the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the world’s top-ranked amateur at the end of the season.
Ashok has made 13 cuts in 22 events this year, with official earnings of US$ 171,343 (₹1.36 crores). That leaves her 95th on the season Money List and 96th on the Race to CME Globe Season with 220 points.
With the top 60 players making it to the tour finals, it is unlikely that Ashok will qualify for the event. She now needs a couple of big weeks with top 5 finishes to get in.
Epson Tour – Nishtha makes cut in Alabama
Nishtha Madan has made 9 cuts in 17 starts this season
24-year-old Nishtha Madan shot 71-69-74 (2-under 214) to finish tied-46th at the US$ 200,000 Guardian Championship at Prattville, Alabama.
The top 10 finishers at the end of the Epson tour season earn their playing rights on the lucrative LPGA Tour but Nishtha currently lies 65th having made only 9 cuts in 17 starts.
Madan will play her next Epson Tour event, Sep. 23-25 in Arkansas.
ADT – Kshitij makes cut in Indonesia
Kshitij Naveed Kaul will now return to India to play the Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational next week
21-year-old Kshitij Naveed Kaul shot 74-70-73-72 (9-over 289) to finish tied-51st at the US$ 70,000 OB Golf Invitational, Asian Development Tour event at Jababeka Golf & CC in Indonesia.
Kshitij, who has been a PGTI winner and has several top 10’s to his credit is known for a slightly unconventional swing based on the theory of The Golfing Machine followed most famously by big hitting Bryson DeChambeau. Kshitij has a record of posting a top-10 finish on the PGTI at age 14 at The Oxford Western India Open.
Kshitij has been spending quite some time playing ADT events in Indonesia, with a recent tied-9th finish at the US$ 110,000 BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament.
The strapping 6 foot 3 inch tall player will next play at the US$ 100,000 Combiphar Players Championship from Sep. 20-23 at Parahyangan Golf in Indonesia.
European Tour – Shubhankar misses cut in Italy
Shubhankar Sharma is having a mixed season so far
Shubhankar Sharma shot 75-70 (3-over 145) to miss the cut at the US$ 3mn DS Automobiles Italian Open at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome, Italy.
The tournament was won by Robert McIntyre of Scotland who held off the 2022 U.S. Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick with a birdie on the first extra hole. McIntyre shot 70-69-67-64 (14-under 270) and Fitzpatrick 65-69-69-67 (14-under 270) to join the 26-year-old Scottish in the playoff.
Despite his recent struggles on the European Tour, 26-year-old Shubhankar Sharma is still comfortably placed at 37th in the European Tour Rankings thanks to his second place finish at the start of the year in the lucrative Abu Dhabi event and he will retain his 2023 playing rights in Europe easily while also qualifying for the season ending DP World Championship in Dubai.
Sharma will next play at the US$ 3mn Cazoo Open de France at Le Golf National in Paris, France.
Credits:-
Photo – Aditi Ashok