14-year-old Guntas makes cut at WAAP

Guntas Kaur Sandhu, who took a break from her ninth standard examinations back home, passed a different kind of a test as she became the youngest Indian to make the cut at the elite Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championships golf tournament here. Guntas, who turned 14 on February 2, is making her debut at the WAAP.

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Playing in extremely windy conditions on a demanding layout, Guntas was often aggressive and played without fear at the picturesque but challenging Hoiana Shores Golf Club. The tactics paid off for the tall youngster. Guntas (73-71) at 2-over in tied-39th. "It was so difficult to play in such strong wind but I loved the challenge," said Guntas. "The only time I have played in conditions like this was in Scotland when I played in Under-8 US Kids European Championships."

Mannat Brar (67-76) survived a disastrous start and a rough finish to be 1-over at tied-30th. Saanvi Somu (72-74), playing her second WAAP, was 4-over and on the cutline at T-50. Mannat opened with a double bogey and a triple bogey and closed with a bogey and a double bogey. She also had three birdies.

Heena Kang (76-73), Zara Anand (76-74) and Kashika Misra (78-79) missed the cut, which fell at 4-over. At the top of the leaderboard was South Korea's Hong Sumin (65-67) at 10-under.

Australian WPGA called off

Gold Coast: It was a disappointing week for Indian women golfers Diksha Dagar, Pranavi Urs and Avani Prashanth as the Australian WPGA Championship was called off due to the impending impact of Cyclone Alfred. The event was part of a three-week stretch of co-sanctioned events between the WPGA Tour of Australasia and the Ladies European Tour.

Shubhankar starts strongly at Joburg Open

Johannesburg: Shubhankar Sharma, who claimed his maiden DP World Tour title at this very event in 2017, made a strong start at the Joburg Open, shooting a 4-under 66 to lie tied-17th after the first round. Sharma posted five birdies against one bogey. Veer Ahlawat shot a 3-over 73 despite four birdies. He was T-127 and will need a good second round to make the cut. China's Wenyi Ding, who turned pro late last year and gave up a chance to tee up at the Masters despite winning the 2024 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championships, shared the first round lead with England's Jordan Smith after carding a matching bogey-free 7-under 63.