Palm Beach (USA), Sep 23 (Golf News) Eager to be back on the course after a month-long break, Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri will compete in next week's Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, hoping to present a stronger and faster version of himself.

Having recovered from a tough season, and despite losing valuable time, tournaments and physical strength after contracting the COVID-19 infection, Lahiri did exceedingly to qualify for the Olympics.

He also managed a punishing schedule and kept his PGA Tour card even as many top stars lost their full playing rights.

Lahiri recognises that the way he played towards the end of the season and even got into the Play-offs after a long time, augured well for the coming year.

"I knew I was getting into my rhythm. So I want to continue with the same mindset. So, the key is to start this season in the same vein, albeit fresher, stronger, faster and I will be able to manage my schedule better and not have to wait till the last minute," he said.

Talking about the off-season, Lahiri said it was mostly spent rejuvenating in the company of his family.

"It has been a good month; a much-needed month which started off by taking some time off with the family to vacation. That was a first after a couple of years. It was probably what I needed after the hectic end to the schedule.

"Physically I found myself quite drained and I think I played like seven out of nine weeks to finish the year. That included travel to Japan and back and the play offs," said Lahiri.

"...the Olympics; managing the travel and the fatigue and the energy levels. Frankly, there was a lot on my plate and I am quite pleased with the way I handled the pressure with the COVID situation.

"I am glad I was able to do that and I had to dig deep. I am proud of how I managed that." Lahiri, who last won in 2015 at the Hero Indian Open and then made his move to the PGA Tour by the end of that year, is still looking for his first win on the PGA Tour.

"I was totally spent every which way and all this happened within 3-4 months of having COVID. The last two and a half weeks or so I have gotten back in the gym; have started working out a little bit more trying to work on endurance as much as possible.

"At the same time, I am trying to keep an eye on all my parameters...I am recovering my strength and have been in touch with my coach Vijay Divecha as well and just trying to get back into the same rhythm that I had found towards the end of the season last year." The Indian ace, who has now spent more than seven seasons on the PGA Tour, the toughest professional golf Tour in the world, is now all set to start the 2021-22 season next week.

"I want to hit the ground running and check some things off my list," added Lahiri.

Also Read : Saudi International, Asian Tour come together for historic USD 5 million event to start 2022 season

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Sentosa (Singapore), Sep 21 (Golf News) The Saudi International golf tournament will mark the start of a revamped 2022 schedule, as the prestigious event becomes sanctioned by the Asian Tour as part of a 10-year partnership, the organisers announced.

The tournament, scheduled to take place from February 3-6, will feature an increased purse of USD 5 million -- up from USD 3.5 million.

The Asian Tour is also in the process of finalising plans to complete its combined 2020/2021 schedule, which will be announced in due course.

Asian golfers have not seen action on their home turf since March last year.

The tournament, presented by SoftBank Investment Advisers, will continue to be broadcast globally from Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, near Jeddah.

“The importance and potential of Asia’s role in world golf is undeniable, not least due to its position as a global economic powerhouse. This partnership will unlock many opportunities for players, sponsors and fans of the game, " said Majed Al-Sorour, CEO of Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation.

Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Asian Tour, said: “This is an outstanding development for the Asian Tour that will create significant benefits for our membership, key stakeholders, and fans alike.

In 2021, the Saudi International presented one of the strongest fields in world golf, joining an elite group behind only the Majors and a small number of professional championships in the ranking points offered to competitors.

The Asian Tour, the official sanctioning body for golf in Asia and a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours, will sanction the championship, opening new commercial prospects and enabling a greater number of professional golfers to qualify and compete for life-changing opportunities.

Also Read : Sandhu ends T-22 and Sharma finishes T-27 in Dutch Open

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Cromvoirt (The Netherlands), Sep 20 (Golf News) Indian golfer Ajeetesh Sandhu faltered in the final round with an even-par 72 to end tied 22nd at the Dutch Open here.

Sandhu slipped seven places from his T-15 position after the third round. He totalled 11-over 299 for the tournament.

Shubhankar Sharma, who began the week superbly with 70-66, let it slip over the weekend with 74-70 and finished T-27th.

SSP Chawrasia, who had an up-and-down week with a 67 on the second day followed by 82 on third, ended the week just the way he started with a 75 and was 77th.

Kristoffer Broberg ended a six-year drought as he claimed an emotional victory at the Dutch Open. The Swede won by three strokes after holding his nerve down the final stretch.

For Sandhu, who had 69s on first three days, the bogeys on 15th and 16th ended his hopes of a Top-15 finish.

Sharma, trying to avoid dropping bogeys as he did in round three, played a bogey free 70 with just two birdies.

Broberg, 35, said he went through "six years of hell" before battling his way back to triumph at Bernardus Golf. He won back in 2015 BMW Masters after a play-off with Patrick Reed.

Matthias Schmid (66) and Alejandro Canizares (68) seemed to pile pressure but Broberg held on despite dropped shots at the par five 12th and the 14th.

Broberg holed a long birdie putt at the par-three 17th to almost seal the event and then finished it with a par.

Schmid earned his best European Tour finish with an outright second place on 20-under, courtesy of a final round 66. Canizares claimed the third place despite a double-bogey finish and a 19-under total.

Also Read : Aditi finishes 73rd in Cambia Portland Classic Tour

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Portland (USA), Sep 20 (Golf News) India's Aditi Ashok ended a disappointing week with a six-over 78 that saw her finish 73rd at the 2021 Cambia Portland Classic golf tournament here.

Playing her first event in the US since mid-July and after the Olympic Games, Aditi shot 77-72-78. She will now look to shake off this rust and get back to the form in the last leg of the LPGA season from here on.

Meanwhile, Rolex Rankings No. 2 Jin Young Ko, starting for the first time in six weeks, dominated the field. She carded a bogey-free 69 in the third round, which was also the final round in the event shortened due to rain.

She won by four strokes over Jeongeun Lee and Su Oh.

Ko started with a one-stroke advantage over Gemma Dryburgh and as the latter fell back with a couple of bogey, Ko pulled ahead.

Oh and Lee kept Ko in their sights, with Lee striking an eagle at No.18 to pull within three shots but a confident Ko drained a 23-foot putt at 18th to close the win.

Oh and Lee both earned the best finishes of their LPGA Tour careers with their tie for the second spot.

Also Read : Aditi plays steady second round to make cut in Oregon

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Cromvort (The Netherlands), Sep 18 (Golf news) Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma landed two eagles for a card of 6-under 66 to lie tied-9th after the second round of the Dutch Open tournament here.

At 8-under Sharma, who shot a 2-under 70 in the opening round, is four shots behind the leader, Kristoffer Broberg (68-64) who put his injury problems behind him to fire his lowest European Tour round for almost six years. He leads the field at 12-under.

Sharma, who has had four finishes in Top-16 in his last five starts, started with a bogey but quickly found his feet. He birdied third and sixth and turned in 1-under.

On the back nine, he eagled par-5 12th, where he had dropped a shot a day earlier. As if that was not enough he holed his second shot on par-4 15th for another eagle and then closed with a birdie on 18th.

With two eagles in the second round, he has three in two rounds having landed an eagle on the first day on Par-5 seventh.

Broberg made nine birdies with a single dropped shot as he carded a 64 that moved him to 12 under, a shot clear of Belgian Thomas Detry and Dane Marcus Helligkilde.

Ireland's Niall Kearney and German Maximilian Kieffer were then at 10-under but the headlines at Bernardus Golf belonged to 35-year-old Broberg, who has shown signs of his brilliant best in recent weeks after a tough few seasons.

The 35-year-old announced himself to the golfing world in 2012 as he won three events in four weeks on the European Challenge Tour, and within three years he was a European Tour winner at the BMW Masters.

He lost his card in 2017 and while he regained it at the Qualifying School, hip and knee injuries contributed to him playing just 11 events between 2018 and 2020.

Also read: Olympian Udayan Mane shoots sublime 65 to take first round lead at J&K Open

News source: PTI 

Puidox (Switzerland), Sep 18 (Golf news) India's Gaurika Bishnoi logged her best international result in a long time with a tied-6th finish at the Lavaux Ladies Open on the LET Access Series.

Returning to action after a long time, the five-time winner on the domestic circuit with cards of 71-72-69 finished 4-under and tied for sixth, while Ridhima Dilawari was tied-9th with rounds of 74-69-70.

While the money they earned may not even have been enough to cover their expenses, the confidence generated by finishing in top-10 will do them a lot of good.

Amandeep Drall (73-73-72), who was tied-4th at Flumserberg Open on LET Access Series a fortnight ago, finished tied-22nd alongside Pranavi Urs (71-74-73) who is making her big venture into Europe.

Vani Kapoor hoping to come out of her rusty form due to long break due to the pandemic (75-74-72) was tied-33rd.

Gaurika, who was rather successful on the domestic circuit till 2019, was like many others left stranded without any events to play during the pandemic. She is now getting back into the groove and a few invites into the Ladies European Tour will also help.

Scotland’s Gabrielle Macdonald prevailed in a playoff at the Lavaux Ladies Open to secure her second LET Access Series title in 2021. The 28-year-old began the day in a tie for fifth place on 4 under and produced a round of 69 to finish the tournament of seven-under-par.

She birdied 18th to get into a play-off with England’s Gemma Clews (68) who she beat with a par on the playoff hole. It was her second playoff victory in the space of four events.

Also read: Aditi plays steady second round to make cut in Oregon

A trio of French amateurs appeared next on the leaderboard with Ariane Klotz and Emma Falcher finishing T3 on six-under-par, while Nastasia Nadaud was one shot further back in solo fifth place. 

News source: PTI

Portland (US), Sep 18 (Golf news) Indian golfer Aditi Ashok quickly made up for her disappointing start on the opening day with a steady even par 72 in the second round to make the cut at the 2021 Cambia Portland Classic here.

Aditi, who carded a five-over 77 in the first round, is now Tied-57th and has the two weekend rounds to improve on her position as she gets into rhythm.

Aditi travelled to the US this week after a few starts in Europe before which she was in Tokyo for the Olympics, where she missed a medal by a whisker.

On the second day, Aditi putted much better despite finding as many greens in regulation as the first day. She birdied fifth and 18th but dropped shots on 11th and 12th.

The cut came at +6, with 77 players advancing to the weekend.

Rolex Rankings No. 2 Jin Young Ko (69-67) carded six birdies and just one bogey for a second-round 67 and sits on top of the leaderboard at 8-under heading into the weekend at Oregon Golf Club. She has a one-stroke advantage over Gemma Dryburgh (68-69) in second and a three-stroke lead over Carlota Ciganda in third.

Ciganda ended up barefoot at one point in her round of 71, taking off her shoes and socks to wade into a water hazard on No. 15. With her ball sitting up on a patch of grass just shy of the water, Ciganda knocked her 54-degree wedge to 15 feet and converted an unconventional birdie.

Seven players are tied for fourth at 4-under, with Alana Uriell joining that group thanks to a flurry of five consecutive birdies to end her round.

Also read: Disappointing start for Aditi in Portland Classic

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Noida, Sep 16 (Golf news) Jahanvi Bakshi did not have the best card of the day but it was good enough to give her a share of the lead with Lakhmehar Pardesi in the ninth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour here on Thursday.

On a day when rains and heavy ground conditions made scoring difficult once again, Seher Atwal and amateur Sneha Singh carded creditworthy rounds of 2-over 74 each.

Jahanvi Bakshi, who had 78 on the first day, shot 3-over 75 on the second to get to 9-over 153, the same as Lakhmehar (75-78), who had a tough day. Seher Atwal (80-74) was tied third alongside Hitaashee Bakshi (79-75) at 10-over 154.

Though the scores have been high due to tough and wet conditions, which included a long rain stop this morning, the close tussle will make it a battle of nerves.

As many as six players are within two shots and they include the winners of the last two legs of the Hero WPG Tour.

Amateur Sneha Singh (81-74) improved by seven shots in her second round to get to 11-over 155 and she trailed the twin leaders by two shots. Sneha (81-74) was Tied-fifth with Trimann Saluja (77-78) and Shweta Mansingh was seventh (80-77).

Four players including Saaniya Sharma, Siddhi Kapoor and two amateurs Avani Prashanth and Nishna Patel are tied for eighth place.

The top 18 pros and five amateurs made the cut which fell at 165. Some well-known names missing out included Suchitra Ramesh, Gauri Karhade, Mehar Atwal and amateur Vidhatri Urs.

Also read:  Ridhima and Gaurika T-13 at Lavaux Ladies Open in France

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Puidox, Sept 17 (Golf news) Ridhima Dilawari staged a fine comeback from an early double bogey to shoot three-under 69 and get into top-15 at the Lavaux Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour Access Series (LETAS).

Also joining her in T-13th place was Gaurika Bishnoi (72), who rallied from two bogeys in the first three holes.

Both Indians are now one-under 143 and five behind the leader.

The 16-year-old French amateur Emma Falcher fired the round of the day to rise to the top of the leaderboard on day two.

Among other Indians, Pranavi Urs (71-74) was T-21st and Amandeep Drall (73-73) was T-28th. Vani Kapoor (75-74) at T-44th also made the cut.

However, Durga Nittur (74-78) paid the price for a triple bogey on eighth and missed the cut.

Falcher started the day on two-under-par and began her round with three birdies and a bogey in her opening nine holes. Three further birdies on the back nine ensured a round of five-under 67.

Three players are tied for second place, two shots back on five-under-par including Finland’s Emilia Tukiainen, who is seventh in the LETAS Order of Merit.

Also read: Gaurika Bishnoi top Indian at Lavaux Ladies in Switzerland

News source: PTI 

West Linn, Sept 17 (Golf news) Returning to the United States after playing in Europe, Indian golfer Aditi Ashok endured a tough start as she carded a disappointing five-over 77 in the first round of the Cambia Portland Classic.

She will need a solid second round to make the cut.

Aditi had two double bogeys and two bogeys against just one birdie as she tried to adjust to the conditions on the other side of the Atlantic.

Three players led after the first round.

Fresh off playing for the victorious European team at the Solheim Cup two weeks ago, Spain’s Carlota Ciganda shot an opening-round 68 to join Pajaree Anannarukarn and Gemma Dryburgh for the lead at Oregon Golf Club.

Six players are tied for fourth at three-under, including Rolex Rankings No. 2 Jin Young Ko, who is playing for the first time since representing Korea at the Olympics in August.

Two-time Cambia Portland Classic winner Brooke Henderson is one of five players tied for 10th at two-under, a group that includes 57-year-old Laura Davies.

Also read: Sneha, Avani lead amateur clash against Jahanvi and rest in 9th leg of Hero WPGT

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Puidox (Switzerland), Sep 16 (Golf News) Golfer Gaurika Bishnoi was the best-placed Indian at tied 21st in the Lavaux Ladies Open on the LET Access Series here.

Gaurika shot 1-under 71 with two birdies against one bogey.

Among the other Indians, Amandeep Drall, who had a recent top-5 result, shot 1-over 73 and was tied 41st, while Ridhima Dilawari and Durga Nittur were 2-over 74 and tied 52nd.

Vani Kapoor (75) was tied 57th and Asmitha Sathish pulled out.

Anne-Sterre den Dunnen fired an opening round of 5-under 67 to take the lead on the first day. The Dutch amateur, playing her first LET Access Series event, won the Internazionali d'Italia Femminili U18 in late August.

Three players are tied for second place, one stroke back on four-under-par after Teresa Diez Moliner, Anais Maggetti and Kristyna Napoleaova all shot rounds of 68.

Spain's Moliner and Czechia's Napoleaova both carded five birdies and one bogey in their opening rounds, while Swiss golfer Maggetti made six birdies and two bogeys.

Two shots off the lead is a group of eight players, including the winner of the 2021 Allerum Open, Gabrielle Macdonald.

Also Read : Sneha, Avani lead amateur clash against Jahanvi and rest in 9th leg of Hero WPGT

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Srinagar, Sept 15 (Golf News) Pune-based Udayan Mane, who represented India at the Tokyo Olympics, fired a sublime seven-under 65 in the opening round to take the early lead at the Rs. 40 lakh J&K Open here on Wednesday.

The Delhi duo of Rashid Khan and Honey Baisoya as well as Gurugram's Veer Ahlawat, the runner-up at the PGTI event last week, shot scores of five-under 67 to be tied second.

Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow, Chandigarh's Akshay Sharma and Patna's Aman Raj returned cards of four-under 68 to be tied fifth.

Delhi-based Kshitij Naveed Kaul, who has his origins in J&K, carded a 70 to be tied 14th.

Indian golf legend Jyoti Randhawa posted an even-par 72 to occupy tied 25th place.

Pawan Parihar was the highest-placed among the players based in J&K. Parihar, who hails from the Jammu Tawi Golf Course, also produced a 72 to take a share of 25th place.

Udayan Mane got off to a dream start with eight birdies on the first 10 holes. He struck the ball with pin-point precision, landing it within six feet of the pin to set up birdies on the first, third, fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth.

On the 10th, the big-built Mane sank a 12-footer to move to eight-under for the day.

After a terrific start, Udayan then slowed down on the back-nine as the putts didn’t roll in for him. He dropped a bogey on the 15th but saved a good par from the bunker on the 16th.

"I just started off with a bang and was seven-under thru nine holes and eight-under thru 10. Coming in I didn’t really make enough putts to get the round going. I was looking at a 59 after the 10th but it didn’t go as per plan for me on the back-nine," Mane said.

Among the three players in tied second at 67, Veer Ahlawat and Honey Baisoya had error-free rounds while Rashid Khan made seven birdies and two bogeys.

Bengaluru's Chikkarangappa, the last winner at Royal Springs Golf Course, ended the day with a 73 to be tied 39th while PGTI Order of Merit leader Karandeep Kochhar of Chandigarh was a further two shots back in tied 63rd place

Also Read : Mane, Randhawa among top golfers at J&K Open 

News Source : PTI

Noida, Sept 15 (Golf News) On a day when none of the players broke par, Chandigarh's Lakhmehar Pardesi led by two shots after the first round in the ninth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour here on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old, who has never won on the Tour, held the lead outright for the first time. She led despite having no birdies and three bogeys.

Trimann Saluja, 19, who turned pro last year, was lying second after a round that resembled a roller-coaster. She had three birdies, four bogeys and two double bogeys for a five-over 77 at the NOIDA Golf Course.

Fancied names like Jahanvi Bakshi, amateurs Avani Prashanth and Sneha Singh were all left struggling. Besides Jahanvi and Avani, two others Siddhi Kapoor and Ananya Datar, shot 78 for a tied third place, while Hitaashee Bakshi and Anousha Tripathi carded 79 each.

Six players were tied for 10th at eight-over 80, while last week’s winner, Sneha Singh shot nine-over 81.

The course played rather difficult and scoring was not easy. Birdies were few and many players did not have a single one. 

Also read : Sneha, Avani lead amateur clash against Jahanvi and rest in 9th leg of Hero WPGT

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Noida, Sept 14 (Golf news) Amateur Sneha Singh and Jahanvi Bakshi, the last two winners on the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour, will battle it out when they compete in the ninth leg of the Tour starting here on Wednesday.

Last week, in the eighth leg, Sneha emerged winner as amateurs held sway though Jahanvi was among those tied for fourth. Jahanvi had won the seventh leg.

The Tour resumed a fortnight ago and in the last two starts, the amateurs have shown that they are working towards joining the pro ranks as they matched them shot for shot.

When Jahanvi won the seventh leg, amateur Avani Prashanth was second and last week Avani was fourth again.

Another amateur who has caught the eye is Vidhatri Urs who was Tied-seventh last week.

Siddhi Kapoor was the top pro in the eighth leg even though she was third overall last week. This week she will attempt to take the win all by herself.

The Women’s Golf Association of India has been consistent in having six amateurs each week in order to give them more matchplay and also groom them for the future as they get into the professional circuit.

Jahanvi will tee off in the opening three ball alongside amateur Smriti Bhargava and seasoned Neha Tripathi, while Sneha plays with Oviya Reddi and Ishvari Prasanna.

Jahanvi’s sister Hitaashee Bakshi is in the three ball with Saaniya Sharma and Khushi Khanijau.

Also read: Bogey-free 66 in round 2 helps Tvesa Malik make cut easily in Switzerland

News source: PTI

Srinagar, Sep 14 (Golf news) Olympic-returned Udayan Mane and former Asian Tour winners Jyoti Randhawa and Rashid Khan will headline a stellar field when professional golf returns to the valley with the J & K Open here from Wednesday.

The Rs 40 lakh event, organised by the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), along with J&K Tourism, will be held at the picturesque Royal Springs Golf Course (RSGC).

The Pro-Am event will be held on September 19.

The tournament will witness participation from 125 golfers -- 119 professionals and six amateurs.

The top Indian professionals in the fray include Mane, who had played at the Tokyo Olympics, eight-time Asian Tour winner Randhawa, two-time Asian tour winner Rashid, PGTI Order of Merit leader Karandeep Kochhar and 2018 Panasonic Open winner Khalin Joshi.

Among others, Viraj Madappa and Chikkarangappa S (former winner at Royal Springs Golf Course) as well as other leading Indian players such as Aman Raj, Kshitij Naveed Kaul and Manu Gandas will be in fray.

The foreign challenge will be led by the Bangladeshi duo of Md Zamal Hossain Mollah and Badal Hossain.

The local challenge will be led by Bhawani Singh Parmar, Pawan Parihar, Fayaz Ahmed Langoo and Raghav Wahi as well as amateurs such as Sanjeev Dugra, Shabir Ahmad Bhat, Zubair Hasan Zargar, Arsalan Rah, Adnan Rah and Umar Yaqoob Mir.

Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, "The staging of the J&K Open 2021 is another positive trend for the PGTI since the resumption of the tour in the first week of September.

"The tournament is in line with our long-term objective of promoting professional golf in different parts of the country in order to grow the sport further.

"We appreciate the support of J&K Tourism, J&K Golf Development & Management Authority and the Royal Springs Golf Course in helping us stage this event."

Also read:  In-form Shubhankar fires 66 to grab top-10 finish at high-profile BMW PGA

News source: PTI