The Hero Women’s Indian Open once again got off to a ‘skillful’ start in Delhi as Team Rest of the World fought back to tie the ever-entertaining Hero Skills Challenge with Team Europe.
In keeping with tradition to help to kick off the tournament week, four players representing each side competed in a fun-filled contest which included four individual challenges on DLF Golf & Country Club’s 18th hole.
The challenges included a 120-yard nearest to the pin shot, a shot aimed at hitting the Hero MotoCorp motorbike positioned in the centre of a lake, a 30-yard bunker shot, and a 40-foot putt. Two players were selected for each challenge and were given three attempts each.
Team Europe consisted of the 2019 Hero Women’s Indian Open champion Christine Wolf from Austria, Nuria Iturrioz from Spain, Meghan MacLaren from England, and Johanna Gustavsson from Sweden.
The Rest of the World side was comprised of Indian duo Diksha Dagar and Tvesa Malik, Argentina’s Maggie Simmermacher, and Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab.
In the first challenge, Wolf and MacLaren were selected for the European side with Wolf hitting it to five-feet to secure the win.
With Iturrioz keen to take on the motorbike challenge, the Spaniard then thrilled fans watching on as she chipped not one but two shots into the circular stand to give Europe a 2-0 lead.
On to the bunker challenge, and Dagar and Malik both produced fine shots pitching it to five and seven-feet respectively to earn their first point.
As it came down to the monster putt – one which required players to aim way right of the flagstick – Malik produced the closest effort putting it to just a few inches to ensure her side halved the honours for the second consecutive year.
With the teams tied with two ‘skills wins’ a piece, each player received Rs. 42,000 courtesy of tournament sponsor Hero MotoCorp.
After a fun start to the week, the Hero Women’s Indian Open gets under way on Thursday 19th October. Follow all the action on @LETGolf on Instagram and X and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #RaiseOurGame #HWIO23.
