By V Krishnaswamy
Tvesa Malik took the first step towards regaining her status on the Ladies European Tour, as she took the top honours at the Pre-Qualifier – Asia with a final round of 2-under 70 and a total of 7-under 209 for 54 holes.
The last few groups were still on the front nine at the Classic Golf and Country Club, when the players had to endure a 40-minute stoppage on account of thunder and threat of lightning amidst rain. When play resumed the players handled it well, though the greens became slower.
Avani Prashanth, who will stay amateur until she plays the LET Q-School’s Final stage, shot 1-over 73 for a total of 4-under 212 and finished second. Fellow Bengalurean Pranavi Urs, who in 2023 divided her time between various Tours ranging from South Africa to Epson in US and LET, is looking at playing full-time on the LET. After starting the week with a 4-under 68 she added 75-70 to finish at 3-under 213 in third place. Pranavi could have been in danger as she was 2-over through 13 holes and her total was 1-over for the tournament.
The projected cut for the qualifiers at that stage looked like 1-over or 2-over. Pranavi put the issue beyond doubt with four birdies in a five-hole stretch between 14th and the 18th.
A total of eight girls are assured of a place in the 90-hole five-round Q-School Final in Marrakech. Six of them are Indian.
Following the top three Indians was Singaporean Sock Hwee Koh (70) in fourth place at 2-under 214.
Durga Nittur (70) and Ridhima Dilawari (73) were tied for fifth place at 1-under 215 while Thailand’s Saraporn Chamchoi (70) and India’s Jasmine Shekar (70) were tied for seventh place.
Tvesa, (pictured above), after struggling with her form for a good part of last two years, has begun to show a welcome return to form, that has included two wins on the domestic Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour.
“I feel I have begun playing well after putting in a lot of work hard over past few months,” said Tvesa, who finished three shots ahead of amateur Avani Prashanth, who at 17, is looking to take her first steps into professional golf.
Tvesa added, “I am still working on my game, though the scoring is coming back. It is like work in progress, but for now getting to the Final Stage was the immediate goal. To do that without much fuss felt good.”
Avani (above) was pleased to move forward, but added, “The putting did not work this week, despite the 67 on the second day. The greens seemed rather slow, and the rain did not help. But I stayed focussed on getting the job done.”
Pranavi (below) was also happy to get to the Final Stage, more so after flirting with danger at one point in the final round. “I am just looking forward to a couple of other events and then the Final stage,” she said.
While the top eight are assured of the Final Stage, three other Indian girls could squeeze in if there are more spots depending on the final field at Marrakech. The three were Neha Tripathi (70), Seher Atwal (72) and Ananya Datar (75), who were tied for ninth place at 2-over 218 and just one stroke outside the Top-8 and ties.
The Final Qualifier of Lalla Aicha Marrakech Q-School takes place on December 16-20, at Royal Golf Marrakech and Al Maaden Golf Marrakech in Morocco.
