GOLF
Lahiri finishes sixth in Liv Houston Golf Series
India’s Anirban Lahiri played a solid third and final round to card four-under 68 for a total of 10-under to finish tied sixth at the Liv Houston Golf series.
This was the second top-10 for Lahiri, who had earlier finished a similar sixth in Jeddah in March.
Starting with a birdie from the third, Lahiri had five birdies, an eagle and three bogeys in his 68. His earlier rounds were 69-69.
In the team competition Cleeks GC led by Martin Kaymer won their first trophy.
The team totalled 33-under to win at Golf Club of Houston by two strokes over Smash GC and Fireballs GC. This was LIV Golf’s 30th tournament since its inception.
The Houston individual title went to Torque GC’s Carlos Ortiz, who has celebrated four team victories but never an individual win.
Ortiz shot a final-round of five-under 67 to finish at 15-under, one stroke ahead of the Cleeks’ Adrian Meronk. Patrick Reed (4Aces GC) was tied for third with David Puig (Fireballs GC) at 13-under.
PTI
Avani Prashanth finishes 54th in LET Access Series tourney
Indian amateur golfer Avani Prashanth endured a disappointing finish at the Montauban Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour’s Access Series, signing off 54th at the event.
Avani, who had a good start to the week with a one-under 71, finished the last two days with 78-82. Her three-day total was 15-over 231 and finished 54th.
Earlier a second Indian, Durga Nittur missed the cut.
Both Avani and Durga will play at the Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge which begins on June 14.
German amateur Helen Briem secured her first victory at a professional event, one week after losing out on the win at the LET’s Dormy Open Helsingborg in a play-off.
Briem came into the final day three shots behind day two leader Kelsey Bennett and showed she meant business by rolling in a birdie on the first hole.
She kept the momentum to card a 69 and win the title. Her first two rounds were 70-70 for a three day total of seven-under 281.
Switzerland’s Tiffany Arafi finished second on six-under-par. Overnight leader Australia’s Kelsey Bennett had a tough back-nine and finished solo third on five-under-par, while 2021 winner Marine Griffaut finished fourth in her professional debut alongside France’s Ariane Klotz and England’s Amy Taylor.
-PTI
Sharma ends T-59th; Linn Grant wins mixed event in Sweden
Helsingborg (Sweden), Jun 10 (PTI) Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma dropped five shots in the last four holes for a nightmarish card of five-over 77 to end tied 59th at the 2024 Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed Tournament.
His earlier rounds were 69-69-71 and he totalled two-under 286 to slip from the top-20 position he occupied for the first two days.
Sharma was even par after 14 holes with two birdies and two bogeys before he collapsed at the finish. He had two triples in the week besides a double bogey.
Diksha Dagar had earlier missed the cut in mixed event with 78 women from Ladies European Tour and 78 men from the DP World Tour. All of them play for a common title and prize pool.
Home star Linn Grant clinched a one-shot victory on a dramatic final day. Linn, 24, started the day 11 shots behind fellow Swede Sebastian Soderberg, who had led from the start of the tournament.
Grant made history in 2022 becoming the first woman to win on the DP World Tour and has now become the first woman to win twice.
Grant fired a bogey-free seven-under 65 on the final day to post the clubhouse lead of 17-under-par at Vasatorps Golfklubb. Soderberg had a one-shot lead heading into the last but made a double bogey, handing the title to Grant.
She conceded that she did not think much about winning as she was 11 behind. It was the biggest comeback win on DP World Tour, which was co-sanctioning the event with LET.
PTI
Randhawa registers Top-10 in Legends Tour in Greece
Indian golfer Jyoti Randhawa, playing his rookie season, recorded his first Top-10 finish on the Legends Tour Europe at the Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy.
Randhawa, who won the Legends Tour Qualifying School, shot even par 72 in the final round at the Par-72 International Olympic Academy Golf Course.
His earlier rounds were 68 at the Par-71 Bay Course and 66 at the International Olympic Academy Golf Course. With a total of 9-under for 54 holes he was tied-ninth.
The other Indian in the field, Jeev Milkha Singh (67-75-71), at 2-under, was T-32nd.
The Indian pair will play in Irish Legends event next week.
Clark Dennis shot 66 to claim a sixth Legends Tour victory of his career. The American carded three successive rounds of 66 to register a score of 17-under par and win the title by four shots ahead of Scott Hend (13-under).
-PTI