Avani lies 24th in Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific as Thailand’s Galitsky leads after three rounds

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – MARCH 09: Avani Prashanth of India plays a shot during Day One of The Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship on The New Course at The Singapore Island Country Club on March 09, 2023 in Singapore. (Photo by Andrew Redington/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

 Khel Today Bureau 

Singapore: Avani Prashanth closed with two birdies for a round of 2-over par 74 and slipped to tied 24^th place, while her teammate Nishna Patel (77) had a disappointing day with 5-over 77 as she slipped to tied 34^th place at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP).

On a humid day when scoring was not easy with only six players shooting below 70, Avani had four bogeys before finishing with two birdies, while Nishna Patel, who like Avani is making her third trip to WAAP, had two birdies, but gave away five bogeys and a double bogey.

“I have just not been able to get my putting touch,” said a disappointed Avani, who last month won the individual honours at Queen Sirikit Cup and steered the Indian team to their best ever second place. Nishna was also part of the team.

Thailand’s Eila Galitsky grabbed a commanding three-shot lead going into the final round as she attempts to become the second Thai to win the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP), following in the footsteps of compatriot Atthaya Thitikul, who won in 2018.

The 16-year-old Galitsky closed with a thrilling birdie from the edge of the water to finish on two-under par 70. That gave her a three-day total of 10-under par 206, three ahead of the second-placed Minsol Kim of Korea.

Kim and Galitsky were involved in a one-on-one battle in the leader group, till she made a bogey on the par-5 12th, and then followed it up with a double bogey on the par-4 15th. A birdie on the 18th brought back the smile on Kim’s face.

Japan’s Yuna Araki, the second-highest ranked player in the championship at number five, showed her class with three birdies in three holes on either half of the golf course, but it was sandwiched between bogeys on the first and 18th holes as she moved to third place after a four-under par 68 round.

The best round of the day was a six-under par 66 from Korea’s 16-year-old Kyorim Seo. Making her debut in WAAP, she was bogey-free with six birdies, including two in the last two holes. That helped her jump to tied fourth place at five-under par 211 total alongside New Zealand’s Fiona Xu (71), China’s Tong An (72) and Sophie Han (75) of Hong Kong, China.

Singapore’s Aloysa Margiela Atienza turned around a disappointing day into an unforgettable one when she made the only hole-in-one of the championships. The 24-year-old local star holed her 8-iron shot on the par-3 eighth hole from 163 yards, after making eight bogeys in the 16 holes before that.

Galitsky, who holds dual nationality of Thailand and Canada, hit a 4-iron second shot into the 18th that flirted with the water hazard on the left. With almost no stance, she managed to putt from the fringe to 10 feet and made the putt that helped her finish double digits under par. She had earlier made a monster putt from nearly 35 feet on the 11th hole.

Kim (73) made birdies on her first two holes but could not maintain the hot start and her only other birdie came on the 18th hole. In between, she made two bogeys and the double on the 15th.

Chinese Taipei’s Ting-Hsuan Huang, the defending champion, shot an even-par 72 to be tied 13th at two-under total, while Japan’s Rin Yoshida, the highest-ranked player in the field at number four, shot an even-par 72 to be tied for 24th place at two-over par 218.