By Rahul Banerji
Diksha Dagar made the most of a new regime and a recovering back to make a steady start at the Scandinavian Mixed golf tournament in Gothenburg on Thursday.
Diksha was joined on 2-under par 70 by Tvesa Malik an Shubhankar Sharma, while Ajeetesh Sandhu, the fourth Indian in the field was on level par 72.
The event has an evenly split field of 78 women and 78 men competing for the same trophy and prize fund at the Vallda Golf and Country Club in Gothenburg.
Women’s Indian Open defending champion Christine Wolf of Austria held the clubhouse lead on a stunning 8-under 64 alongside England’s Sam Horsefield.
It was an early endorsement of the concept of fielding both sexes over the same course and prize money, though early in the day.
Comeback continues
The left-handed Diksha needed time away from the course to recover from a strained back towards the end of last season and looks to be on her way back.
Other than an opening bogey on Thursday, she was on the mark, picking up three shots, two of them almost immediately.
Tvesa and Shubhankar had altogether more exciting rounds.
While the former had a double and two bogeys against six birdies, Sharma balanced a double with an eagle 3 besides three bogeys against five birdies to sit in a tie for 46th place.
Sandhu was well down the order on a day of low scores with his 72
In the first two rounds, the groupings will be mixed with either two men and one woman or two women and one man.
Swedish tournament hosts Annika Sorenstam and Henrik Stenson teed off with winning Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, who was hopeful of women’s golf being showcased at the event.
‘Underestimated’
“I think women’s golf is underestimated at times and deserves more praise.
“This is a good way to show the difference between men’s golf and women’s golf is not as big as many people think it is.
“As professional sports people, you have the same mindset, your work ethic is the same, you’re concentrated on improving all the time so there isn’t much difference.”
Ten-time major winner Sorenstam, who also won 17 titles on the LET, added on Wednesday, “I’m super excited to be here.
“This is fantastic, coming back to Sweden, and especially playing, it’s been 13 years since I hit a competitive shot in my home country so I’m really looking forward to a fun week.”
Also read: Sharma looking to build on recent form at Porsche European Open
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