Diksha shoots 71 under in brutal conditions, finishes T -5th as Pranavi is 14th

Magenta Shores (Australia), Mar 8 (PTI) Diksha Dagar logged her first top-5 finish of the 2026 season, finishing a creditable tied-fifth in the Australian Women’s Classic after carding a 1-under 71 despite two bogeys in the middle of the round, here Saturday.

On a brutal day when conditions were very tough, Diksha was one of only three players to go under-par on Sunday as the wind and rain reared its ugly head on the Central Coast in Australia.

One of the other two was he winner, Kelsey Bennett.

Pranavi Urs, who had also been looking set for a Top-5 finish slipped in the final round as she shot 6-over 78, and finished sole 14th.

The other two Indians in the field this week, Avani Prashanth and Hitaashee Bakshi had missed the halfway cut.

Kelsey Bennett grabbed the biggest win of her career as she secured a four-shot victory on home soil to land a maiden Ladies European Tour (LET) title.

Leading by one heading into the final day at Magenta Shores Golf & Country, the 26-year-old battled through brutally tough conditions carding a round of 71 (-1) to claim the win on 13-under par. With the victory, Bennett booked her spot at the AIG Women’s Open.

On a day when scoring was tough Diksha birdied the fourth and the fifth but dropped shots on the seventh and the ninth. She dropped a third bogey on the 13th but picked shots on the 15th and the 17th for a 71.

Pranavi struggled all day. She bogeyed three times on the front and nine three more times by the 14th. Her only birdie of the day was on the 15th, which saw her rise to Tied-10th. But she closed with another birdie on the 18th and ended 14th.

Playing in the final group alongside 2022 champion Meghan MacLaren and rookie Caley McGinty, Bennett was put under pressure early when the latter made two great birdies at the 1st and 3rd.

She responded with excellent birdies of her own at the 3rd and 5th - the latter coming after she lipped out for an eagle hole-out from the rough.

Overall the 26-year-old Bennett had five birdies against four bogeys as MacLaren and McGinty shot 74 each.

McGinty and MacLaren finished the week in T2 on nine-under par.

Thailand's Trichat Cheenglab finished in solo fourth on seven-under par. PTI Corr APS APS