Guntas Kaur Sandhu shot a one-under 71 at the Royal Wellington Golf Club, placing her as the top Indian at tied 17th in the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific after the first round. Ananyaa Sood, Zara Anand, and Jia Kataria also represented India in the tournament, securing positions at Tied 42nd, T-66, and T-75, respectively.
Representing the Indian Golf Union (IGU) in a four-member team, Guntas started with a bogey but recovered with birdies on the third, eighth, and 12th holes. Despite a setback with a bogey on the 15th hole, she trails the leader, Yunseo Yang of South Korea, by seven strokes.
The Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, organized by The R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), witnessed a remarkable performance by Korea’s Yunseo Yang, who finished the opening round with a bogey-free eight-under-par 64. The favorable conditions allowed 32 players to shoot par or better out of the 84 participants.
In second place is Arianna Lau from Hong Kong, China, trailing just one shot behind the leader, with Seojin Park from Korea in third place. Rianne Malixi from the Philippines and Jazy Roberts from Australia share the fourth spot with a score of 68.
Guntas Kaur Sandhu, ranked 545th globally, had a successful domestic season, clinching victories in four IGU circuit events. She expressed her thoughts on the challenging Royal Wellington course, aiming to draw inspiration from her past performances for the upcoming rounds.
