Tvesa signals return to form with second win in three starts on WPGT

Gurugram, Sep 21 (IANS) Tvesa Malik continued her journey to the form that she has been working for with a second win in last three starts on the Women’s Pro Golf Tour (WPGT), as she captured the title at the 13th Leg of the Tour at the DLF Golf & Country Club here.

The win on her home course was her third straight Top-2 finish in last three starts.

The 28-year-old, who has been dividing her time between the domestic circuit and Ladies European Tour (LET) shot 1-over 73 on the final day when scoring seemed difficult. She may well have won by a whopping ten shots, but for the double bogey on the Par-5 18th final hole. That cut her winning margin to eight as she had rounds of 65-74-73 and totalled 4-under 212.

Jasmine Shekar (73) rose to second alongside Neha Tripathi (74) and Khushi Khanijau (75). The second placed trio totalled 4-over 220.

The day’s only under-par round came from Asmitha Sathish, who at 1-under 71 finished Tied-fifth alongside overnight second placed Ananya Datar, who had a rough day with 8-over 80 which had no birdies.

Tvesa began the final day with a three-shot lead but her closest rivals were unable to make a decisive move. As the round progressed, Ananya Datar, Neha Tripathi and Khushi Khanijau dropped some crucial shots.

Tvesa bogeyed the sixth but got the shot back on the seventh. Then she played steady pars before picking a birdie on the Par-3 16th and could afford the luxury of a double bogey on the 18th.

Jasmine had four birdies, all on the back nine, alongside three bogeys and a double, while Neha, winner of the 12th Leg, had one birdie and three bogeys. Khushi had one birdie and four bogeys, while Ananya collapsed with six bogeys and a double and no birdies.

Tvesa’s win augurs well for her ahead of the Hero Women’s Indian Open next month at the same course.

Pranavi Urs, who soon leaves for the Asian Games in China, shot her best card of the week at 72 and was seventh at 223, while Agrima Manral (74) was eighth at 225. Smriti Bhargava, who has been part of Indian Golf Union’s amateur teams to internationals, was eighth with a final round of 74 and a total of 230.

Kriti Chowhan (81) rounded off the Top-10 with a card of 81.

The Order of merit (OOM) leader, Sneha Singh (76) had another disappointing week as she finished T-11 with Seher Atwal (77) as she totalled 232.

Sneha stays on top of the Hero OOM while Neha stays at second with Khushi third. Tvesa made a move up to fourth.

Tvesa won the Order of Merit in 2018, but after that she has been playing more on the LET. This season, as she lost her full card on the LET, she fell back on the local Tour to help find her form and confidence. The last two wins should be useful for that.

Leg-14, the last event on the Tour before the Women's Indian Open next month, will be played at the Delhi Golf Club next week.