Indian challenge comes to an end at Women’s Open golf

Indian golfers Aditi Ashok, Diksha Dagar and Tvesa Malik bowed out of the Women’s British Open golf as they were unable to make the weekend cut at the Royal Troon Old Course, Scotland on Friday.

It was the first time that three Indian golfers had teed off in a women’s golf Major.

Rio 2016 Olympian Aditi Ashok, who has been conferred the Arjuna Award, was playing her 15th Major at the Open, the most by any Indian golfer.

That experience, however, did not come handy as Aditi was unable to card a single birdie on the opening day to end with seven-over 78 and began the second round with a bogey on the par-4 second.

The three-times Ladies European Tour (LET) winner scored her first birdie of the Major on the par-3 fifth but another bogey on the seventh kept Aditi's score to eight-over after the first nine holes.

Two double-bogeys and two bogeys on the back nine severely affected Aditi Ashok’s bid to make the cut as she eventually ended with a seven-over 78 for the round and an overall score of 14-over 156.

Compatriot Diksha Dagar had a particularly testing opening day. Though she carded a birdie and an eagle on the back nine, nine bogeys and a double-bogey meant that Dagar had finished the first round eight-over 79.

The 2019 South African Women’s Open champion carded seven bogeys in the second round to eventually end on 15-over 157.

Youngster Tvesa Malik, playing in her first Major, also found the winds tough to deal with. Though Malik had managed a birdie on the opening day, three bogeys and double-bogeys each meant that she had a score of eight-over 79 in the first round.

Malik, who came into the Major in some form, having been the only Indian golfer to make the cut and finish T-65 at last week’s Ladies Scottish Open, could not do so this time around.

The Indian golfer scored a double-bogey on the par-4 second but pulled it back a little with a birdie on the seventh. However, consecutive bogeys on eighth and ninth meant that she ended the front nine with a three-over in the second round.

Though Malik began the back nine with a bogey, she kept it clean for much of the rest of the holes, save for a double-bogey on the par-5 16th. She eventually ended with an overall score of 12-over 154.

The gutsy headwinds, which had been as high as 40 miles per hour on Thursday, affected most of the field, with the cut being set at nine-over. Friday wasn’t particularly better either with the winds continuing to afflict the game.

The only golfer to end under-par was Swede Daniela Holmqvist, who had an outright lead with a score of one-under 141.

Holmqvist held a one-shot lead over American golfer Austin Ernst and German Sophia Popov, both of whom were at even-par after two rounds.