SHEPHERDSVILLE, KY (July 21, 2020) - Nishtha Madan is in Kentucky for the first time in her life this week to play in the 24th Kentucky Women’s Open. By all indications after an opening round 65 (-7), she likes it here. A nearly flawless round from Madan has her up three strokes on Delaney Shah after one round at Heritage Hill Golf Club. Halfway through, things are working well for Madan, who is from India and now resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan after playing college golf at Sacramento State.

“I’ve literally just been on the internet looking for tournaments to play in,” Madan said following her round. “I searched state by state looking to see when each Open was and if it had already happened, and this one fell perfectly with my schedule and being able to travel down here.”

Madan’s start to the day was excellent as she made four consecutive birdies to open the round along with another four birdies on her back nine. A sole bogey on the par-three 11th was the only blemish on her scorecard.

“I drained a lot of putts today,” Madan explained. “I probably made three or four putts from around twenty feet away, but on top of that I just played steady golf. Tomorrow, I just want to keep playing simple golf. I’m not going to try to do anything crazy; just hit fairways and greens and hopefully some putts will fall.”

Shah, a Maryland native who now plays collegiately for the University of Louisville, will accompany Madan in the final group at 11:12 a.m. EDT for tomorrow’s final round as will Carlee Shoemaker, who is in third place after recording 69 (-3) on Tuesday. These three make up half of the six players who shot under par today, joining Natalia Sompolvorachai, Lauren Hartlage and Rylee Suttor who will each play in the penultimate group at 11:00.

NOTES AND STATS

• If the all-time fastest rounds in tournament history were recorded, there is a good chance the day’s opening twosome would have set the new mark on Tuesday. Alexis Daniel and Caroline McCrorey were the first group off and barely needed two and a half hours to complete their day. Daniel is tied for twelfth place after shooting 74 (+2) while McCrorey is tied for eighteenth place following her 75 (+3).
• Both of today’s two most difficult holes came back-to-back as the par-three 7th was the second hardest hole while the par-four 8th was the toughest. At a stroke-to-par average, the 7th played +0.51 while the 8th was +0.57
• Players who struggled during that stretch had an opportunity to get lost ground back shortly thereafter, as the par-five 10th was today’s easiest hole at -0.16. It and the other par-five on the back, the 16th (-0.04), were the only holes to average an under par total today.

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Golf House Kentucky will have full coverage of tomorrow’s final round on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. A live video will be available to view on Facebook when the final group reaches its last hole on Wednesday afternoon. Another live video will become available if a playoff is needed to determine a champion.