Home numbers can impact Hero Women’s Indian Open outcome

By Rahul Banerji

With 32 home golfers in the fray for the $400,000 Hero Women’s Indian Open that tees off on Thursday, there is a very good chance of an Indian winner emerging on Sunday for the first time since 2016.

The sheer number makes it one of the largest in terms of domestic entries on India’s lone Ladies European Tour event.

Diksha Dagar, already a winner this year on the LET at the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open in the summer is on form the top contender.

The left-hander has good support from a group that includes Amandeep Drall, joint runner-up last year, and Gaurika Bishnoi, Tvesa Malik and Vani Kapoor, all of whom have finished in the top 10 in the past.

Other than Celine Bouter of France who leads the Race to Costa Del Sol order of merit, the other four in the top five – Johanna Gustavsson of Sweden, Spain’s Ana Pelaez Trivino, Diksha and Trichat Cheenglab of Thailand will tee it up on Thursday.

Solid form

Diksha has six top-ten finishes during the season besides her victory at the Czech Ladies Open and said that she was feeling confident of a better performance than in the past on tournament eve.

“This season has been a good one for me, the best in my five years on the LET even though I started a bit slowly. Equipment changes were a factor. Also, I have worked hard on my short game which has been a big boost.

Diksha tees off in her first round alongside fellow LET winners Nuria Iturrioz of Spain and Belgium’s Manon Del Roey at 11.25 am.

With defending champion Olivia Cowan of Germany missing, it appears to be much more open than in past years.

Said recent Lacoste Ladies Open de France winner Johanna Gustavsson on Wednesday, “I’ve been here many times before and hope to do better than in the past.

Good test

“The course is in great condition as always and it is such a good test. I have been playing well and won a few weeks back and I am excited to be back.

“Winning the Order of Merit this time is within my reach and I feel that I keep playing the same way, I can get there. It is very tight at the top and it will be an interesting finish to the year.

“I think what I’ve changed this year is probably my mental approach. Last year I was kind of fed up at the end of the year. I played a lot of tournaments coming out to the end stretch. So I didn’t really play good in the end. But this year, I feel a lot happier.”

Asked about Dagar’s prospects, Gustavsson added, “She is a great player and I have played a lot with her. She has such an impressive short game.

“When we were at the skills challenge yesterday, it was a really tough bunker shot and I told to myself that if anyone is getting close, it is Diksha which she did.”

An open Open

Boutier, the only repeat individual winner on the LET’S 2023 season, is not in the field, underlining how this could be anybody’s Open.

Tour rookie Trichat, winner of the Big Green Egg Open in the Netherlands last month when told of Thailand’s rich history at the tournament, suggested, “Then I will try and put my name on the trophy also.

“This is my first year on the LET and I have enjoyed a lot. It is almost my second home and have made a lot of friends. This is a challenging course. It is my second time here as I had first played Hero Women’s Indian Open in 2019 on an invitation spot.

”The weather here is very similar to Thailand where it is very hot.”

Said past top-10 finisher Tvesa Malik, “My game is getting better. It has been nice getting back into contention and it is nice to come back to a familiar golf course. This is my home course and I have been playing here all the time. 

“The conditions are great but it is still a challenge. You have to play great and work on all aspects of the game to be in contention here. 

Also read: Four of LET’s top five to feature at Hero Women’s Indian Open