ARIZONA
23-year-old Nishtha Madan of Gurugram shot rounds of 63-71-71 (11-under par) to claim her fourth career title on the Cactus Tour, a developmental tour in Arizona.
Nishtha started her campaign with a personal best of 63 in the opening round and followed it with two consecutive 71’s to beat Cheyenne Woods by four strokes.
Nishtha, who wants to play the LPGA Tour, remembers how the pandemic cancelled the Q-School and how playing on the Cactus Tour has helped her gain confidence, “There was no Q school and before I committed to playing golf full time I wanted to feel it out and see if I was 100% sure about pursuing it. Since there was nothing else to play I decided to move to Arizona to compete in the Cactus Tour and develop my game and it worked out as I had intended for it. I definitely came to the conclusion fast that this is something I will do full time and have a very clear understanding that I must win on the mini tour before I can climb a ladder to the LPGA.”
Nishtha’s previous wins –
Nishtha Madan turned professional in May 2020 and tasted early success in her fourth professional start at the Kentucky Women’s Open, where she emerged victorious by three-strokes with rounds of 65 & 67 in July. Two months later, she claimed her second win at the Sun City South Fall Championship after shooting 71-70-72 for a comfortable two-shot win. Later in November, Nishtha claimed her third title with scores of 66-68-67 (15-under par) at Apache Creek on the Cactus Tour in Arizona.