Diksha leads confident home challenge at Hero Women's Indian Open

Gurugram, Oct 7 (PTI) Two-time LET winner Diksha Dagar exuded confidence ahead of the Hero Women's Indian Open, with a strong contingent from the host nation, including Tvesa Malik and rookie Hitaashee Bakshi gearing up for the country's biggest women's golf event beginning here on Thursday.

After a consistent season that includes five Top-10 finishes, Diksha, who finished third in the 2023 edition, said she feels ready to go one step further.

"This golf course is still in great condition. This course has got much better than last year and I'm very excited to play on this course, and I'm just going to play my game," said Dagar.

Tvesa, returning for her 10th appearance, said the home pressure brings excitement rather than anxiety.

"I think this week is, like all the other ones have said, it's quite different from how it's played in the past. I haven't played here since last year's Indian Open, so it is quite different for me. But I'm looking forward to it. I love coming back to play here.

"Obviously, there are nerves that come with it being a home event, but it's always good nerves. And I'm just really excited to tee it up and feel my game has been close, so I'm really hoping that I can," Tvesa said.

Meanwhile, Hitaashee, playing her rookie LET season, carried a simple handwritten motivation on her yardage book — "Jeet ke Aana" (Come back with a win) — a message from her mother before every tournament.

"It's been actually nice to play on the LET because it took me three years to qualify for LET and in December 2024 I finally qualified for my half card," she said.

"The Dutch Open was my first event and it went pretty well and I think that kind of had a base for me for the few events that I played. Some weeks were good, some weeks were bad but I think that's golf." With players like Pranavi Urs, Avani Prashanth, Sneha Singh, Amandeep Drall and Vani Kapoor in the field, the home challenge is strong and the mood, quietly optimistic.

The tournament will see a field of 110, with 29 Indians in fray. The line-up boasts of three of the four players from Top-4 of the Order of Merit and five of the Top-10. The field also includes the 2017 HWIO champion Camille Chevalier of France.

Defending champion Liz Young will return to make her 10th appearance at a storied event, hoping to become only the second multiple winner of the tournament and the first to win it back-to-back since Thailand's Pornanong Phatlum successfully defended her title in 2009.

"It's great to be back here. It's a very good trophy that sits in my lounge, makes me very proud every time I look at it. It's been a challenging year for me, but I'm happy to be back here," Young said.

"The course is playing very differently from last year. So, we're going to have to play some different shots, but I'm really excited to get back out there." The current LET Order of Merit leader, Mimi Rhodes and last year’s No. 1 Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland are also in fray.

"This is my first time in India, so it's been a nice new adventure and a new culture for me to experience, but everyone's been really kind," Rhodes, who has three wins this year in her rookie season, said.

"The golf course is looking really nice and every hole is different, so it's a nice challenge. There are a lot of different holes to play in different ways, so I'm looking forward to that and just eating some more curry. I like curry, but less spicy." Among the internationals, Tamburlini will be a big favourite. She has been in good form all year with nine top-10 finishes this season.

"Interesting to see the course in the shape that it is. It is in really good condition, but just quite different from last year. It was really, really difficult last year. I think good shots are going to be potentially closer to the pin, so that's going to be nice. I'm just very excited.” PTI ATK SSC SSC