Indian golfers make modest start at Women's World Amateur Team Championship in Paris

The Indian trio of Avani Prashant, Smriti Bhargav, and Nishna Patel made a modest start at the 29th Women's World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy in Paris on Thursday.

Avani (75) and Smriti (73) carded the two best scores among the three as India was tied-24th with a day's total of 148.

The American duo of Rachel Heck and Rose Zhang shot 68 and 69 respectively as the USA moved into fashioned a one-stroke lead over Germany. The USA won the Espirinto Santo Trophy back in 2018 and is vying to become the second country to win the back-to-back title since Republic of Korea did it in 2010 ad 2012.

Heck and Zhang, who were also teammates on the victorious USA Curtis Team earlier this summer, totalled 5-under-par 137. Heck's 3-under 68 included four birdies, three of them in her last eight holes, besides a bogey. Zhang is also a three-time Mark H. McCormack medal winner as the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Rachel Kuehn, another USA Curtis Cup Team member, gave the Americans a third sub-par score at 1-under 70, but it was non-counting. Germany rode a pair of 2-under 69s from Alexandra Forsterling and Helen Briem to post a 4-under total of 138.

Poland had its best day in its competition history as Kinga Ksumierksa fired a 70 and Dorota Zalewska shot 71 to propel the team to a T3 finish at 3-under-par with South Africa and Switzerland.