Tvesa Malik got her professional career off to a dream start with victory in the seventh leg of the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour on Friday. Competing in her first event since turning pro, the 21-year-old from Haryana showed great composure to claim a one-shot victory over Gaurika Bishnoi at the Eagleton Golf Resort here. The two were level for much of the final round before Tvesa sank the decisive birdie on the 15th, holding that advantage till the end.
"It was a really fun day. It was neck and neck the whole way. There was a good amount of pressure. We were just waiting for the other person to make a mistake," she said afterwards, having collected a cheque for Rs.1,40,000.
Tvesa had begun the final day one stroke ahead, but she bogeyed the second to tie with Gaurika. The pair then traded birdies to make the turn with the scores level. On the back stretch, there were early mistakes from both players. Gaurika bogeyed 10, her rival the next, and both dropped shots on the 12th. Tvesa moved ahead on the par-four 15th, however, and stayed there. Her pitching wedge got her to within seven feet of a birdie putt, and she drained it without fault. There were nervous moments thereafter, but Tvesa held on to sign for a round of even-par 72 and a three-day total of two-over 218. She had won on the tour as an amateur in 2015 but this was her first triumph as a professional, having made the jump only last month.
Gaurika, meanwhile, moved to the top of the Order of Merit after registering a fifth top-three finish in seven starts on the Tour this season. Gursimar Badwal and Saaniya Sharma (224) finished a distant third while amateur Pranavi Urs (225) came fifth.
The scores (final top eight): 218: Tvesa Malik (75, 71, 72); 219: Gaurika Bishnoi (72, 75, 72); 224: Gursimar Badwal (76, 73, 75), Saaniya Sharma (75, 72, 77); 225: Pranavi Urs (A) (74, 75, 76); 226: Shweta Mansingh (81, 73, 72); 228: Sharmila Nicollet (76, 77, 75), Smriti Mehra (76, 75, 77).
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