Three Indian women golfers earn full cards; to join Aditi Ashok on LET in 2017

Marrakech: In a historic achievement for Indian women’s golf, three more Indians joined Aditi Ashok on the Ladies European Tour in 2017 as they came through the Final Stage of the LET Qualifying School on Wednesday. Amandeep Drall, who finished Tied-7th, Vani Kapoor at Tied-18th and Neha Tripathi at Tied-25th earned full cards for the Tour in 2017. Another two players, Sharmila Nicollet at Tied-41st and Saaniya Sharma at Tied-47th will get limited status, which means they will also get some starts, but fewer than the others. [caption id=“attachment_3167842” align=“alignleft” width=“381”] Vani Kapoor of India at the LET Qualifying School. Image courtesy: ladieseuropeantour.com/[/caption] That brings the total number of Indian women on LET to six – four with full status and another two with limited status. Players who finished top 30 and ties earned Ladies European Tour Membership in category 8 for 2017, while those who finish from positions 31st to 60th and ties after the cut will earn membership in Category 9b and that means fewer starts than Category 8. Kapurthala golfer Drall, who led after two rounds, finally finished Tied-7th with cards of 66-68-71-72-71 and a total of 13-under 347 in five grueling rounds. Vani Kapoor, despite a disappointing final round of four-over 76, totalled five-under 355 and finished Tied-18th, while Neha Tripathi (71) turned in a birdie-birdie finish to be three-under 357 and Tied-25th. Aditi Ashok already has a full card following a sensational season in 2016 during which she won twice and won the Rookie of the Year award and finished second on Merit List. Considering that women’s professional golf is still in its nascent stage and Hero Women’s Indian Open being the only world-class event in India, this is a giant leap for Indian women’s golf. Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden carded 68 and went on to win the top spot at 17-under 343 and Iceland’s Valdis Thora Jonsdottir (68) was second at 15-under 345. Celine Boutier of France, who led for most of the tournament, faltered on the final day with a round of 75 and ended Tied-third, but qualified safely for a full card for 2017.