Amateur Avani Prashanth cards 65, lies second among pros in German Masters

Seddiner See (Germany), Jun 15 (PT) India’s top amateur Avani Prashanth continued her stellar run in 2023 as she opened her campaign at the Amundi German Masters with a sensational 7-under 65 that included an albatross.

Avani was lying second, one shot behind Northern Ireland’s Olivia Mehaffey (64), who started from the back nine and had 10 birdies and two bogeys. The round was yet to finish, though all five Indians had finished for the day.

Among the other Indians, Diksha Dagar (69) was tied sixth. Vani Kapoor shot 73 and was Tied-48th, Ridhima Dilawari carded 3-over 75 to be Tied-84th and Amandeep Drall was Tied-87 with 105.

While Avani had six birdies and an albatross against two bogeys, Dagar, who has had two Top-10 finishes recently on the LET, had five birdies against two bogeys

Avani is playing on special sponsor’s exemption at the Ladies European Tour event. She won the Queen Sirikit individual honours and then topped the Asian Games for Indian team besides logging a Top-10 at Magical Kenya Ladies Open, an event that was won by another Bangalore golfer Aditi Ashok.

Avani was ninth in Kenya and earlier she was T-12 at Hero Indian Open, also a prominent event on LET.

The world’s 80th ranked amateur, Avani, who plans to turn pro towards the latter part of the year, played in the first group of the day. She started with four pars and a bogey on Par-3 fourth. Then she turned the tide with three birdies in four holes and turned in 2-under.

On the back nine of the Golf and Country Club, Seddiner See, a town in Brandenburg in Germany, Avani went birdie-albatross-birdie from 12th to 14th. “It was thrilling to register an albatross on the Par-5 13th. I hit a 5 iron from 197 yards, and it went in,” said Avani, whose first albatross came as an eight-year-old in a practice round at the Eagleton Golf Course in 2015.

“I feel I still left a few shots out there on the green which were 7-8 footers. Driving was excellent, missed one fairway, on the 18th and that became a Bogey.”

On the par-3 fourth, she hit a good tee shot tracking to the pin but the wind suddenly blew from the north and carried the ball, 25 yards right. It was a very tough up and down and she could not make it.

Avani added, “I have been using an app, Upgame, to assess my game and it is helping.”

Johanna Gustavsson of Sweden was sole third with a 6-under 66, while Kristyna Napoleava of Czech Republic and Cara Gainer of England were tied fourth with 68 each.