Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum (from left), Liz Young of England, defending champion Shannon Tan of Singapore and home stars Pranavi Urs, Diksha Dagar and Hitaashee Bakshi with the Hero Women’s Indian Open trophy in Gurgaon on Tuesday. Image courtesy HWIO.
By Rahul Banerji
Nagoya Asian Games gold medallist Pranavi Urs is set on adding more silverware to her mantlepiece at this week’s Hero Women’s Indian Open.
The $500,000 event tees off on Thursday at the DLF course in Gurgaon and the Mysore golfer will want to keep the momentum of her success in Japan going.
Pranavi is happy to be back at the DLF Golf and Country Club for the tournament co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and Women’s Golf Association of India, one of HDR favourite tournaments.
Urs and defending HWIO champion Shannon Tan of Singapore battled it down the home stretch at the Kasugai Country Club in Aichi and it was left to the latter to inform Pranavi that she had in fact won the Asian Games golf.
“I hope Shannon does not have to inform me again on the 18th green,” she said on Tuesday.
The current edition promises to be an opportunity to improve on her fourth place finish last year and Pranavi is “out to enjoy the week” in her bid to translate form into a maiden LET win.
“”This is one of my favourite events of the year. Even though it is not my home course, it is nice to be back playing in India, on home soil.
“I am playing with Shannon for the first couple of days. She called me a couple of days ago, so I am excited. I just want to have fun, do my best and enjoy the week,” Pranavi added.
“It is nice to have extra (home) support, but at the end of the day, I still have to go out and play my game.
“I will try to shut out the noise and other people’s expectations, stick to what I need to do and take it shot by shot.
“Even in the final round of the Asian Games, there were a lot of people watching. If I keep doing what I need to do, I think I will be fine.”
Dream realised
For Diksha Dagar, it was living a “dream” in Japan by securing the team silver with Urs and Aditi Ashok.
Diksha has been hobbled by a knee injury for some time and the inability to practice to the extent she would have liked was reflected in the results in the latter half of the LET season.
However, determination to make the most of the week in Japan saw fortitude outdo adversity.
“Winning a team medal had been a dream, so it felt like ticking an important box. I wanted to win oneat the last Asian Games as well as I was playing good golf then, but that is how the game goes,” said the two-time LET champion.
Her playing rights on the LET are secure for 2027, but the fighter in Diksha is not ready to relent, and will not forego the ‘home’ chance to resurrect her fortune on Tour.
If memories are a prop, Diksha has a solid one, and the sole third finish at the HWIO in 2023 will go a long way in buttressing her confidence.
Learning process
Hitaashee Bakshi would have hoped that the high of finishing the best Indian at third at the HWIO last year would translate into bigger results on the LET.
Golf can be a fickle sport, and Hitaashee says she has taken the ensuing knocks on the LET as part of a learning process. The lessons have shown up, albeit slowly, but she is willing to persevere.
Back to her home DLF course, Hitaashee says she is a lot more certain this time.
“I am trying to understand the course a little better every day and the plan is to play one shot at a time and see where that takes me,” she said.
For 2008, 2009 and 2012 winner Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand, taking on the redesigned DLF course promises to be a challenge.
“This is a completely different course from the one I remember, the LPGA star said on Tuesday.
New look
“The old course was quite flat, whereas this one has a lot of elevation changes. It is more challenging and tougher, so I will need a good plan for the week.
“I am really happy to see so many young Indian golfers coming through and playing on tour.
“It has been a long time since I was last here, and there are now many more Indian players competing and performing well. I am very happy to see that.
“I have been playing on the LPGA Tour for about 15 years.
“When I first started travelling to the United States, it was difficult. You have to focus on your game and perform at a very high level.
“But I enjoy playing golf, and that enjoyment has helped me keep playing for so long,” added the two-time LET winner.
Also read: Pranavi nets pioneering Asiad gold as India equal 1982 haul
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