Diksha Dagar played her best round of the week with a flawless three-under 69 to rise to Tied-13th from overnight Tied-25th at the Ladies European Tour Thailand Open.
Dagar, playing in her rookie year, is now eighth on the LET Order of Merit and second on the Rookie of the Year list.
In 10 starts, she has made nine cuts, won once, been in Top-5 twice and twice more in Top-20 including this week.
Diksha played her first three rounds in even par 72 each and ended the week at three-under 285.
India’s other women stars -- Tvesa Malik (75) ended Tied-48th at four-over 292 and Astha Madan had a final round of 75 for a total of eight-over 296.
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Thailand’s amateur star Atthaya Thitikul has won the Ladies European Thailand Championship for the second time in three years. The 16-year-old finished with a five-under-par 67 on a weather-interrupted final day to win by five shots from Esther Henseleit.
Thitikul’s triumph at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club two years ago aged 14 years, four months and three days made her the youngest known winner of a professional golf tournament.
She backed up that success with a phenomenal performance at the same venue, posting rounds of 69, 67, 63 (a course record) and 67 for a winning total of 266, 22-under-par.
At 16 years, four months and three days, the No 5 ranked amateur in the world is the youngest player to win two Ladies European Tour titles and the most exciting prospect in women’s golf since Lydia Ko, who had won four professional titles by the same age.
German rookie Esther Henseleit shot a final round of eight-under-par 64 and as Thitikul is still an amateur, she collected the winner’s cheque for 45,000 euros, moving to second on the LET order of merit although she said that she would have preferred a trophy.
Germany’s Olivia Cowan finished third, with Norwegians Marianne Skarpnord and Tonje Daffinrud tied for fourth place. Hannah Burke, Beth Allen and Nattagate Nimitpongkul were joint sixth and Carmen Alonso tied for ninth with Chorphaka Jaengkit.
Thitikul’s second win in the tournament will renew the question of when she will turn professional, but with her second LET title, she will once again qualify for the Evian Championship and the AIG Women’s British Open, which means that European fans will get to see her perform in next month’s majors.
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