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The Print
14 hours ago
- Sport
- The Print
Teen star Avani takes sole lead at Hulencourt Women's Open
Playing in her first season on the LET, Avani, who as an amateur has top-10 finishes in Hero Women's Indian Open and Magical Kenyan Open in 2023, has had four top-20 finishes this season. The 18-year-old Avani, who is playing her first season as a pro, goes into the final round as a sole leader for the first time in her career. Hulencourt (Belgium), Jun 14 (PTI) Teen star Avani Prashanth, who was second for the first two days, added a third-round card of 3-under 69 to take sole lead at the Hulencourt Women's Open here. After rounds of 68-69-69 she is 10-under despite a closing bogey on the 18th and holds a one-shot lead over French golfer, Nastasia Nadaud (67), and Welsh pro, Darcey Harry (68), who are both at 9-under. The other two Indians making the cut were Diksha Dagar (72-73-70) at 1-under and T-32 and Tvesa Malik (76-70-71) at 1-over and T-42nd. Avani, who was second after the second round, opened her round on the moving day with five pars. She birdied the sixth and the ninth to turn in 2-under. On the back nine, she added birdies on the 14th and the 16th and got to 11-under at which point she held a two-shot lead over the field. She dropped her first shot on the closing hole and fell back too 9-under, but Nastasia, who made a big charge with a 67, was still one behind. Darcey Harry was tied second with Nastasia. On a cooler moving day, Avani picked four birdies with her only blemish coming on the 18th hole. 'The wind switched up today, so it was like a different golf course altogether', said Avani. 'I definitely had to play a little conservatively in some places, which I don't like to do, but obviously I was forced to. I just stayed patient the whole time,' she added. Avani produced a standout moment on the 14th, firing an impressive birdie putt from off the green. 'I misjudged that number a little bit, but I'm glad it turned out the way it did. The temperatures were down a little bit today which I guess made it slightly easier. Yesterday, everyone was complaining about the heat, but I think golf was a little easier for everyone today. 'I preferred it a bit more yesterday because of how far the ball was going, but I'm definitely happy that it wasn't as hot. I had to try really hard to focus all day yesterday, and by the 8th and 9th holes, I was so tired, so thankfully that didn't happen today,' she explained. The young golfer admitted that there could be some nerves going into the final round. 'There will obviously be some nerves, but I just try and forget about it. I love playing under pressure and I love chasing, but thankfully, I don't have to do that now, so I'm just going to put my best foot forward tomorrow and see how it goes,' she said. The second-round leader, Helen Briem shot even par 72 and slipped to fourth at 8-under, while Singaporean Shanon Tan (69) was tied fifth with first round leader, Australian Kelsey Bennett (71). The day's best card came from Cara Gainer of England, whose 66 carried her to tied-seventh with Smilia Tarning Soenderby of Denmark, Lauren Walsh of Ireland, and Ginnie Ding of Hong Kong. They were all at 6-under. In the second round, Avani produced a round of 3-under 69 to follow up on her opening round of 4-under par 68 to stay in second place and just one stroke behind the leader, Germany's Helen Briem (68-68). However, the other Indians Vani Kapoor (76-73), Sneha Singh (74-75), Amandeep Drall (74-76) and Hitaashee Bakshi (79-74) missed the cut. Avani has been encouraged by her recent form and consistency. 'I've been playing well, but wasn't quite getting the strong starts I wanted. This week, I've had that, and I'm happy to have built on it. 'Mentally, I'm in a confident place. I've been closing out tournaments well lately, which has helped put me in a really positive headspace,' she added. PTI Corr UNG This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Hindustan Times
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Golf: Avani Prashanth finishes creditable T5 in LET event
Mumbai: India's rising golf talent Avani Prashanth squandered a one-shot lead heading into the final round but still walked away with a creditable tied-5th place at the Hulencourt Women's Open in Belgium on Sunday. The 18-year-old scripted her first top-10 finish in her rookie season on the Ladies European Tour (LET). It was slightly bittersweet in the end for the teen from Bengaluru who played excellent golf across the first three rounds to card 68-69-69, but a final day 3-over 75 as part of the lead group pulled her down from pole position. This though was Avani's best finish as a professional – she had tied-5th and lower finishes as an amateur at the Hero Women's Indian Open – after turning pro last October and earning her LET card for this season in December. The last round blip notwithstanding, the overall performance in Belgium has only boosted the belief of India's previously top ranked amateur woman golfer that she has it in her to compete among the pros and fight for bigger things. 'It's my first one (top-5 finish) as a professional, so of course I'm really happy with this,' Avani told HT after the final round. 'It's just a reassurance that I know I can compete and beat the best.' Avani certainly flaunted that mindset on Saturday, securing four birdies on a windy course to lead the field by one shot after the third round. Looking ahead to the final round, Avani had spoken of 'some nerves' and her love for playing 'under pressure' and while 'chasing'. Being chased on the final round, therefore, was slightly different territory for her. She began with a couple of bogeys and could never really bounce back from that stutter. The youngster also bogeyed the par-five 9th to slip further. A birdie on the par-5 13th lifted her but a bogey on the 18th after a wayward tee shot saw her sign off with a 3-over 75. Avani finished tied-5th with Lauren Walsh of Ireland on 7-under 281, having started the round on 11-under. Darcey Harry, 22, of Wales, shot an excellent final round 68 to win her first LET title at 13-under 275. Avani, the first Indian to win the Queen Sirikit Cup and who played in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games at 17, was gutted about the final round, yet pleased about her overall tournament. 'It's been a great week, but I expected it to end a lot better than it did,' she said. 'I played some great golf over the past three days, so really, besides the final round, I have no complaints.' Diksha Dagar finished tied-23rd (1-under 287) while Tvesa Malik was tied-48th (5-over 293).
Hindustan Times
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Avani falters in final round, finishes at career-best T-5 in Belgium
Hulencourt Jun 15 Rising India star Avani Prashanth, who started with a one-shot lead, faltered in the fourth and final round, finishing on tied fifth place at the Hulencourt Women's Open here. She shot 3-over 75 and finished with a card of 7-under 281, but still it was her best finish of the season. Another rookie Darcey Harry of Wales celebrated her 22nd birthday, which fell this week, by recovering from an early bogey for a round of 68 and a total of 13-under for the week to register her first career win. Avani, who led by one shot at the start of the day, opened bogey-bogey and never really recovered from that setback. Avani dropped shots on the first, second and the ninth and slipped from 11-under to 8-under. A birdie on par-5 13th was a small consolation and she ended with another bogey on he 18th for a 75, which was her worst card of the week after the first three rounds of 68-69-69. She finished at 7-under in a tie for fifth place with Lauren Walsh . The tied fifth place was the best finish for Avani as a professional and equalled her best of a similar T-5 in the 2023 Hero Women's Indian Open, when she was still an amateur. Avani also has four top-20 finishes this season. Diksha Dagar was T-23 at 1-under, while Tvesa Malik was T-48. Diksha had two birdies and two bogeys. Darcey, who was one behind the Indian at the start, also bogeyed the start, but the Welsh golfer was on fire from the fifth hole. She birdied the fifth, eighth, ninth and the tenth. A stutter with a bogey on the 11th was brushed aside by an eagle on the 13th and a birdie on the 14th. She reached 14-under and was four shots clear of second-placed Nastasia Nadaud . Darcey could afford a bogey on the 16th and then closed with two pars for a three-shot win, her first in her first season on the Ladies European Tour. Overall Darcey had five birdies, three bogeys and an eagle. It was her second eagle of the week, after one on the tenth on the third day. Nastasia, who was tied second with Darcey after the third day, but one behind Avani, had six birdies, but she also gave away three bogeys and a late double bogey on the Par-4 12th. Nastasia shot 71 and was 11-under and sole second. Amelia Garvey had one of the best rounds of the day and rose from T-18 to third, while Helen Briem had one birdie and one bogey in a round of 72 and was sole fourth at 8-under.
