Tvesa Malik manages first top-10 finish in European golf
At the Ladies Open De France, Tvesa Malik was in spectacular form until a challenging final round scuppered her chances of a better finish.
A day after she produced a commendable show to lie four strokes behind the leader in the second spot, India’s Tvesa Malik finally finished tied 10th at the Ladies Open De France golf.
The performance at the Chateaux course in Bordeaux was enough for Tvesa to manage her first top-10 finish on the Ladies European Tour outside India.
Young sensation Julia Engstrom of Sweden, meanwhile, won her second title of the season at the French event with a narrow one-shot victory over home favourite Celine Herbin and Argentine Magdalena Simmermacherat.
Starting the final round at an aggregate score of four-under 138, Tvesa Malik endured a below-par outing on Saturday.
Four bogeys saw her finish the final day at four-over 75. That undid all her good work in the first two rounds. The 24-year-old Tvesa carded an even-par 213 (70+68+75) for the tournament.
With Engstrom racing ahead on saturday with bridies in the second and the third, Tvesa Malik tried to find a way to put herself in contention for the title. The pressure saw her score bogeys on the fourth, sixth and seventh holes to drop her down the leaderboard.
The Haryana-born golfer did well to maintain the status quo on the back nine, but another bogey on the par-four 17th saw Tvesa have to settle for a tie of tenth position.
Meanwhile, for champion Engstrom, the win was anything but an easy one as she held her nerves on the back nine to stave off a late fightback from French star Celine Herbin.
“It was a fight out there today, Celine was pushing me hard and I could see she was making birdies so I just tried to keep my head cold,” Engstrom, the 2018 Rookie of the Year told LET after her win.
“This win was different, it is harder to defend. I’ve been in the lead and lost before so for me to get a win with the lead is a huge confidence boost.”
What’s next on the Ladies European Tour?
The Ladies European Tour will head into a month-long break before returning for the Dubai Moonlight Classic on November 4.