SHEPHERDSVILLE, KY (July 22, 2020) – Nishtha Madan officially has a 100% winning rate in Kentucky. On Wednesday, Madan triumphed at Heritage Hill Golf Club to win the 24^th edition of the Kentucky Women’s Open in Shepherdsville. Madan shot a final round 67 (-5) which gave her a total score of 132 (-12), good enough to win by three strokes over Lauren Hartlage and Delaney Shah.

Madan started the day with a three-stroke cushion, but it quickly evaporated when Hartlage made three birdies and an eagle in her first five holes to narrow the gap to one. Madan was steady throughout the front nine, going out in 35 (-1) before kicking it into high gear with a 32 (-4) on the back. Hartlage briefly tied Madan early on the back nine when Hartlage made consecutive birdies on the 12^th and 13^th, but a bogey on the 14^th while Madan rattled off birdies put Madan in control during the closing stretch. Shah acquired the hot hand during the final nine holes as she played the back nine in 30 (-6); a flawless stretch that allowed her to join Madan and Hartlage up top. The three players were certainly able to demonstrate their playing ability, as an eight-shot gap would be the final number separating the runners-up from a three-way tie at fourth place.

Madan’s victory is a coveted prize and an award for her patience given the uncertainty 2020 has produced for so many golfers attempting to solidify their placement on professional tours like herself. She cannot say for certain when and where her next tournament will be, but this victory bodes well for what’s in store for Madan.

“I work with a sports psychologist and he’s told me to look at every golf shot as an isolated event,” Madan explained. “Every time I hit a shot, I treat it as my first one of the day. That helped me stay concentrated and not led the lead get in my head at all. I never looked at the leaderboard throughout the round, but during the rain delay I saw how great Lauren had played and knew I just had to do more of the same to finish. My hope is that my next tournament will be in Arizona the first week of August, but I’m looking ahead to Q-School later this year and hoping I can get status on Tour as soon as 2022.”

NOTES AND STATS

• The delays Madan alluded to first began with a suspension of play at 2:24 p.m. EDT. The round resumed at 3:50, but more lightning popped up at 4:05 that caused another delay in play which halted things until 4:35, where the round finished from there.
• Hartlage’s 65 (-7) was the low round of the day, besting the 67s from Madan and Shah. Moyea Russell and MacKenzie Neal also broke 70 on Wednesday as each shot 69 (-3). Russell finished in a tie for fourth place while Neal finished in a tie for ninth.
• Hartlage’s eagle, which came on the par-five 1^st was one of two made on Wednesday. Teri Doss, who finished in a tie for seventh place, made the other eagle on the par-five 16^th.
• The par-three 7^th was a brute once more in the final round, playing as the hardest with a stroke-to-par average of +0.57.
• The 16^th was the easiest hole on Wednesday, thanks in part to the eagle from Doss. Thirty-five birdies were made here today, as it ended up playing -0.12.

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The Kentucky PGA Section would like to thank Heritage Hill Golf Club and their staff for hosting this week’s tournament. The Section’s appreciation is also expressed to each player for competing this week and cooperating with the tournament protocols in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Next up on the Section calendar is the 101^st Kentucky Open. The tournament takes place at Triple Crown Country Club in Union and will begin on Tuesday.