Tvesa Malik wins her first international title in South Africa
28-year-old Tvesa Malik from Gurgaon, who recently married successful Indian Tour pro Ajeetesh Sandhu, carded rounds of 71-65-71 to register a three-shot win at a total score of 9-under 207 at the US$ 68,000 SuperSport Ladies Challenge, the season opening event on the Sunshine Ladies Tour in South Africa.
Tvesa entered the final round tied for the lead following her bogey-free second round of 65 with Paula Reto of South Africa and her 71 was good enough to secure the victory.
Tvesa was the lone Indian in the field and became the second Indian to win in South Africa after Diksha Dagar, who won the Women’s South African Open in 2019. Her victory makes her eligible to play the rest of the 7 events scheduled on the Sunshine Tour.
Tvesa, who had a strong 2022 season on the Ladies European Tour, has shown a welcome return to form after a lacklustre 2023.
“I was very consistent off the tee which was vital because the fairways are tight and really firm. The greens are big so hitting from good positions on the fairways is fine and my putting is what I was most pleased with. I gave myself several opportunities and I hit so many good putts that just did not go in. But then the 10-foot birdies on the 11th and 16th holes were really important,” Malik said.
The Sunshine Ladies tour usually plays a full season involving 9-10 tournaments with an average prize fund of US$ 50,000. As of now, the tour has announced seven more tournaments to play in the next two months.
Date Tournament
March 6-8 Sunshine Ladies Tour Invitational
March 13-15 Cape Town Ladies Open
April 4-6 New Event
April 10-12 Jabra Ladies Classic
April 18-21 Joburg Ladies Open
April 22 Investec SA Women’s Open
April 25-28 Investec SA Women’s Open
Photo – Sunshine Ladies Tour