India’s Avani Prashanth registered her fourth straight under par round with a one-under 71 to sign off tied 10th, her best finish in the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championships in Pattaya on Sunday. She carded 68-69-71-71 for a total of nine-under 279, but felt she could have done much better. “I missed a lot of chances, but the positive is that I could still get 9-under without my ‘A’ game. The first 36 holes (7-under) I played great but the last 36 (2-under) was disappointing,” said Avani, who has a busy schedule ahead of her.
Avani, who birdied only one par-5 in four days and missed numerous small putts, was nine shots behind the winner.
Chun-Wei Wu of Chinese Taipei, starting the day four shots clear of the field, overcame a nervy start with two bogeys in the first three holes.
She saw her lead dwindle to as little as one, but birdied twice in the last four holes to hang on for a two-shot win. She carded 67-65-66-72 for 18-under 270 total to become the second player from Chinese Taipei to win the WAAP title, which opens multiple doors for her over the rest of the year.
India’s 15-year-old Saanvi Somu, making her debut at the event, carded a final 75 after dropping a double bogey at the ninth, her closing hole. She had cards of 73-72-75-73 for a creditable 5-over 293 and was tied 48th.
Avani started with a birdie but gave that shot back on the third. She followed it with a string of nine par before picking back-to-back birdies on 13th and the 14th.
Over the next four holes, she missed at least three makeable putts, two of them for birdies and bogeyed the last.
“I just could not make the putts, didn’t convert the chances I created,” said Avani, who will now play in Kenya and two big amateur events in Sage Valley and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in the US.
The winner Wu’s rewards include berths into three Majors — the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews, the Amundi Evian Championship in France, and the Chevron Championship in the United States of America.
Apart from the Rae-Vadee T Suwan Champion’s Medal, she will also receive invitations to the Hana Financial Group Championship, the ISPS HANDA Women’s Australian Open, the 121st Women’s Amateur Championship and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
“Incredible! This is the first time I’ve won a big tournament,” said Wu, whose 72-hole aggregate of 18-under 270 was two strokes clear of runner-up Lee Hyo-song, the 15-year-old Korean.
