Diksha Dagar wins Czech Ladies Open to end four-year title wait

By Rahul Banerji

Diksha Dagar won her second Ladies European Tour title with a comfortable four-shot victory in the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open at Beroun on Sunday.

Overnight leader by five shots, the 22-year-old annexed her second LET win after the 2019 Investec Women’s South African Open with a 13 under par 203 at Royal Beroun Golf Club.

“I’m feeling very happy. I finally won after five years. My first win just happened and for this event, I really worked hard for this. For the last three weeks, I was very close to a win and it has finally happened,” Dagar said later.

“I feel so happy to be part of the winner’s circle again. It has given me confidence and I finally believe in myself that, yes, I can do it.”

The Asian Games-bound left-hander came under some pressure from runner-up Trichat Cheenglab of Thailand who rode a closing 8 under round to total 9 under 207.

Diksha though calmly sealed the win with two birdies in the last four holes including one to close out her round. Over 54 holes, Diksha dropped just two shots, one in her opening round, and a second on Sunday.

On Saturday, she hit a bogey-free 7 under 65 that gave her a five-shot overnight cushion.

Consistent run

Sunday’s win capped a remarkable run of results on the LET this year including a tied third last week at the Amundi German Masters to go with a T8 at the Helsingborg Open and T6 at the Belgian Ladies Open.

Behind Diksha, 2022 Hero WPGT Order of Merit topped Pranavi Urs saw a top-10 finish slip away with three dropped shots in her closing nine holes.

The Mysore golfer had picked up six shots – including five in a row at the start – to climb into the upper reaches of the leaderboard but the late blemishes saw her finished in a share of 17th on 4 under 212.

Pranavi had cards of 75, 68 and 69, while Ridhima Dilawari took a share of 54^th place on 1 over 217 (74-72-71).

Experienced Frenchwoman Celine Herbin finished third behind Diksha and Trichat on 8 under 208 (69-72-67).

Good record

Diksha, who has a runner-up finish at the event two years ago in four straight appearances Beroun said on Saturday, “Throughout my round I was in very good form and my hitting was good. I putted very well today.”

On Sunday, she added,  “I saw the scoreboard on the 16^th and I thought, thank God I made a birdie on the 15^th.

“I faced a difficult chip on 16 and after I made a par there, I thought, with two holes to go and a three-shot lead, I can finally breathe a little more easily.

“My key to success was just following the routine. I have worked on my putting skills and also been getting a lot of sleep, which keeps you focused,” she added.

In the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol, Ana Peláez Trivino moved into the number one spot ahead of Aditi Ashok with a T8 finish.

The win earned Diksha 500 points and took her from 22^nd to fifth place in the Order of Merit followed by Lily May Humphreys in sixth, Chiara Noja in seventh, Alice Hewson eighth, Cara Gainer ninth and Celine Herbin tenth.

Earlier, Scotland’s Laura Breveridge hit a career-best, course record equalling 9 under 63 to climb into a share of fourth place. It was the round of the day and contained nine birdies against a lone bogey.

Also read: Diksha leads Czech Ladies Open with blistering second round