Aditi Ashok makes cut at Founders Cup

Clifton (New Jersey): Aditi Ashok just about made the cut with an even-par with one birdie and one bogey on either side of the turn at the Founders Cup Golf Championship. Aditi birdied fourth and 12th and bogeyed seventh and 16th as he had a round of 72 after finishing 1-under on the opening day of the $30 million LPGA tour event at the MontClair Country Club on Friday. Till information was available, Aditi is having a rough time as he is tied 80th in the ongoing third round on Saturday. Meanwhile, Minjee Lee, who is yet to win this year, had the best round on tour this season before settling for a 9-under 63. She now holds a three-shot lead at the halfway point of the event. The Australian had a 14-under 130 total after the first two rounds. Eighty players in the field of 144 made the cut at 1-under. Tvesa Malik fires bogey-free 68, finishes 26th in Aramco Series Bangkok India’s Tvesa Malik saved her best for the last as a brilliant bogey-free four-under par 68 — she found all 18 greens in regulation — helped her get inside the top-30 of the $1 million Aramco Team Series in Bangkok. At the historic Thai Country Club, the putts finally dropped for the 27-year-old from Delhi after she had put together a solid round. The 68 was the lowest score of her 2022 season in 20 rounds, indicating that the swing changes she made at the start of the year is getting in the groove, and moved her up to tied 26th place at one-under par 215 total. Tvesa birdied the fourth and then had a hat-trick of birdies from 13th to 15th for four birdies in a bogey-free round. The tournament was won by Belgium’s Manon de Roey, who matched the lowest round of the tournament — a six-under par 66 — to finish on 13-under par. De Roey was three shots better than Johanna Gustavsson (68) of Sweden, who finished runner-up for the third time this season. Overnight leader Patty Tavatanakit (73) made a birdie on the closing hole to join Scotland’s Kylie Henry in tied third place at 8-under par 208. She was the best-placed Thai on an otherwise disappointing day for the local fans, with former world No1 Ariya Jutanugarn (71) in tied fifth place a shot behind. Malik, who was 19th in the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit last season, could have done even better, but for at least three missed birdie attempts from inside eight feet. Malik started the day tied for 39th place at three-over par. Her first birdie of the day came on the par-5 fourth hole, and just like Friday’s second round, she made three birdies in a row on the back nine, which came on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes. Malik now flies off to France for the Jabra Ladies Open, to be played at the stunning Evian Resort Golf Club. The next Aramco Team Series is scheduled to be held at Centurion Golf Club in London, from June 16-18. Kartik Sharma moves to second in Phuket as Mane is 6th India’s Kartik Sharma, a left-hander with a lot of promise and a bunch of Top-10 finishes on his domestic Tour, on Saturday shot a sizzling 67 to give himself a shot at his first pro title at the Blue Canyon Classic on the Asian Development Tour. At nine-under, Sharma, who had carded 66 in the first round, is now T-2 with three others and is just one shot behind the leader, a Thai teenager Denwit Boriboonsub (66). Kartik is tied second with Shahriffuddin Ariffin (69-64), Witchyapat SInsrang (67-66) and Swede Filip Lundell (66-67), who had a scary scooter accident on the eve of the tournament. First round leader Udayan Mane, after a brilliant 63 on first day, shot even par 71 with three birdies and three bogeys. At a total of 8-under, he is Tied-sixth alongside three other players. Five of the eight Indians who teed up this week made the cut. M Dharma (66-71) at T-28, Yuvraj Sandhu (70-68) at T-37 and Yashas Chandra (68-71) at T-46 were the others to make the cut in Beautiful Thailand Swing event. The cut fell at 3-under. Indians missing the cut were Divyanshu Bajaj (71-73), Karan Vasudeva (77-70) and Chiragh Kumar, who withdrew due to injury. Denwit Boriboonsub, the 18-year-old from Pattaya, has carded successive 66s on the stunning Lakes layout at the famous Phuket club to sit alone atop the Blue Canyon Classic leaderboard at 10-under. It will be a tight final round with as many as 35 players within five strokes of Boriboonsub, who finished Tied-second behind compatriot Phachara Khongwatmai at the Laguna Phuket Championship on the Asian Tour in December. It propelled Boriboonsub inside the world’s top 500 for the first time.