Nishna Patel registers her maiden win of the season on the IGU circuit
With top ranked amateur Avani Prashanth focusing on overseas tournaments, the battle to be on top of the women’s amateur rankings is on and 16-year-old Nishna Patel from Mumbai, who already has played on many national teams took the first step with victory in the Indian Golf Union’s (IGU) Western India Ladies at Poona Golf Club.
Rankings in the IGU Ladies series are used for selection of national teams in various global amateur events through the year and are top priority. They are also a useful training ground for the 16 leg Hero Women’s Pro Tour.
Her total even-par score of 213 was ahead of the other international Heena Kang of Chandigarh on 215 and the other contender for the No 1 spot, Vidhatri Urs of Mysore, who finished third with 5-over 218.
Both Vidhatri and Nishna represented India along with Avani last March at the Asia Pacific Team championship (Queen Sirikit Cup) in the Philippines. Nishna also secured 2nd place in the Asia Pacific Juniors in May and reached the Round of 16 at the R&A’s Girls’ Amateur in England last August.
In Category C (14-15 years), Guntas Kaur Sandhu clinched victory with rounds of 73-73-77, securing a four-stroke lead with a total of 10-over 223. Shambhavi Chaturvedi finished as the runner-up with scores of 77-74-76, totaling 14-over 227.