15th Hero Women’s Indian Open tees off on October 19 at DLF course

The Ladies European Tour’s flagship event in Asia, the $400,000 Hero Women’s Indian Open, will be played at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon from October 19 to 22 with a quality field of 120, it was announced in the Capital on Friday.

Leading the home challenge will be an in-form Diksha Dagar, a two-time LET winner and currently occupying third place on the continental tour’s merit list who is having her most productive season as a professional.

Already in line for a shot at qualifying for the LPGA at the Q Series in Alabama thanks to her LET ranking, Diksha will also be the highest ranked home player in the field that has entries from 25 nations in all.

With the top 15 on the domestic Hero women’s pro tour rankings list getting direct entries, several of whom already hold status on the LET plus the top six amateurs, the eventual size of the domestic challenge is expected to be in excess of 30 golfers, and one that reflected well at the 2022 edition with four Indians finishing in the top 10 including joint runner-up Amandeep Drall, Aditi Ashok (fourth), Gaurika Bishnoi (T6) and Vani Kapoor (T8).

Diksha is one of the top four on the LET’s Race to Costa Del Sol (Order of Merit) who will be playing the Open’s 15th edition. With only top-ranked Frenchwoman Celine Boutier missing, second placed Spaniard Ana Pelaez Trivino, Diksha at three and Thailand’s fourth-ranked Trichat Cheenglab are all in the fray.

Three former champions – Christine Wolf (2019), Becky Morgan (2018) and Camille Chevalier (2017) – are in the field while as many as five title-winners from the current season besides Diksha (Czech Ladies Open), and Trichat (Big Green Egg Open in the Netherlands).] will be in action on the DLF’s testing Gary Player layout.

They include Denmark’s Smilia Tarning Soenderby (KPMG Women’s Irish Open), Nuria Iturrioz (La Sella Open in Spain) and Carmen Alonso (Ladies Open by Pickala Rock Resort in Finland) who are both from Spain, Lisa Pettersson (Helsingborg Open in Sweden) and Germany’s Patricia Isabel Schmidt (Belgian Ladies Open).

The field is further strengthened by the entries of at least eight other winners from the 2022 season including Lee Ann Pace of South Africa, Meghan MacLaren of England, Ana Pelaez Trivino, Manon de Roey of Belgium, Jana Melikova of Czech Republic, Anne Charlotte Mora of France, Liz Young of England, and Johanna Gustavsson of Sweden.

Speaking at the event launch, Bharatendu Kabi, head of corporate communication and corporate social responsibility at Hero MotoCorp, noted, “This tournament has played a significant role in promoting women’s golf in India by providing a global platform to the budding players to showcase their talent.

“It is indeed a delight to see several top players from around the world and a strong Indian contingent competing for the coveted trophy and the Order of Merit for LET at the Hero Women’s Indian Open 2023. We cherish our association with WGAI and appreciate their efforts towards successfully hosting India’s national Open.”

Added Women’s Golf Association of India president Kavita Singh, “The last year has been an incredible run for Indian women’s golf, with our girls excelling on the international stage. It has also been a great year for our Tour in India, the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour.

“The level of golf on display has improved tremendously. It is not long before we see many more of our players on the international tours, and none of this would have been possible without the support of Hero MotoCorp and Dr Pawan Munjal, who have stood by the WGAI and the players through all the uncertain times.”

The LET has two more events scheduled after the Hero Women’s Indian Open, the Aramco Team Series in Riyadh and the Tour Championships, the Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open de Espana in Spain.