Form player Diksha Dagar has much at stake in the Netherlands

By Rahul Banerji

With two top-10 finishes in a row, the in-form Diksha Dagar will be looking to make further gains in the season’s rankings when she tees up at the Big Green Egg Open at Hilversum

A two-time Ladies European Tour titlist Diksha, has one win and five top-10s so far this season and sits third on the LET Order of Merit, and victory in the Netherlands will give her significant momentum with a handful of events to go.

The rangy left-hander has set her sights on becoming the first Indian woman to win the Race to Costa De Sol merit list in Europe.

The top two on the list, France’s Celine Boutier and Spain’s Ana Pelaez Trivino, are not at the Hilversum event, so Diksha can close the gap or even overtake them with a win his week.

Diksha won the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open in June and turned in strong performances at the ISPS Handa Invitational and the KPMG Women’s Irish Open. She was also tied for 21^st place at the AIG Women’s Open, the best by an Indian woman at a major.

Incentives galore

Another incentive for Diksha is that she can also earn an LPGA card and join Aditi Ashok on the premier US circuit if she finishes in the top four on the LET order of Merit.

There are still six events left in this season’s schedule and one of them is the Hero Women’s Indian Open in October, giving the Tokyo Olympian a great chance to make a dash for top honours in Europe.

The field for the Big Green Egg Open includes India’s amateur star Avani Prashanth, Tvesa Malik, Ridhima Dilawari, Vani Kapoor and Amandeep Drall, runner-up at the Hero Women’s Indian Open.

Avani Prashanth, who plans to turn pro when she plays the LET Q-School later this year, won the Queen Sirikit Cup earlier in the year and then became the first Indian woman to land a win on the LET Access Tour, the second rung Tour for women in Europe.

Only two Indians have won titles on the main Ladies European Tour – four by Aditi and two by Diksha.

Tvesa, who struggled through 2022 and the first half of 2023, is making a comeback. Last week she was T36 and is playing on a sponsor’s invite this week.

The Big Green Egg Open returns to the Hilversumche Golf Club for the first time since the inaugural Dutch Ladies Open in 1986, and in all 126 players from 25 nations will be vying for the trophy in the 22nd event of the 2023 LET season.

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