Aditi qualifies for British Open

Carnoustie, August 16

Indian golfer Aditi Ashok qualified for the Women’s British Open after carding a superb 2-under 68 to grab the second place at the 18-hole Qualifiers at Panmure Golf Club. The 23-year-old, who finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, was one of the two Indians in the field, with 15 spots on offer for the British Open.

The British Open will be played from August 19 to 22 at the Carnoustie Links, barely three miles from Panmure.

While Aditi was sole second, Tvesa Malik (73) ended T-29th and was unable to grab one of the berths.

The Open appearance extends Aditi’s record of starts at Majors to 19, up from 18 after the Evian Championship last month. This is her fourth Major of the season. No Indian has played as many. Women have five Majors as against four for men each year.

Aditi, who was 1-over after 12 holes, did well to get to 2-under and finish sole second. She ended one shot behind American Lindsey Weaver (67) while Nicole Larsen Broch, amateur Kirsten Rudgeley, Cheng Ssu Chia, Magdalena Simmermacher were Tied-3rd at 1-under.

Aditi’s best Major finish was T-22 at the British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes in 2018. This will be her fifth appearance at the British Open. — PTI

Sharma records second top-10 finish of season

London: India’s Shubhankar Sharma got off to a flying start with four birdies in the first seven holes in the last round to finish tied-9th, his second top-10 finish of the year, at the Cazoo Classic golf tournament here. Sharma dropped a shot on the par-4 13th when he went into the water but finished with a final birdie for 4-under 68. Sharma registered a total of 11-under and recorded his best finish since his T-8 at Made in Himmerland in Denmark in May. Gaganjeet Bhullar, SSP Chawrasia, Shiv Kapur and Ajeetesh Sandhu had missed the cut. “I feel my game is coming back and this week was a good feel,’ said Sharma.

Lahiri finishes 46th, retains PGA card

Greensboro: India’s Anirban Lahiri survived some tense moments on the final day to end the Wyndham Championship with an even-par 70, which was enough to ensure a full PGA Tour card for the upcoming season. Lahiri’s tied-46th placing earned him the 121st spot on the FedEx Cup standings, which ensured his playing rights for 2021-22 season, beginning in September. It also earned him an entry back into the FedEx Cup Play-offs for the first time since 2018. PTI