Liz Young is back at the Hero Women’s Indian Open as one of the most experienced players in the field, as she makes her tenth appearance at a storied event that has become one of her favourite venues on the Ladies European Tour.
But his time is extra special as she returns as the defending champion and hopes to take back the silverware once again. If she does manage that, she will become only the second multiple winner of Hero Women’s Indian Open and the first to win it back-to-back since Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum successfully defended her title in 2009.
Seated on the stage at the press conference ahead of the tournament alongside the current LET Order of Merit leader Mimi Rhodes and last year’s No. 1 Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland, Englishwoman Liz Young said, “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. 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, who has three wins this year in her rookie season, said, “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. 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.”
At the Press Conference, seated alongside the three leading internationals, Young, Tamburlini and Rhodes and three Indians, Diksha Dagar, Tvesa Malik and Hitaashee Bakshi were Mr. Sanjay Bhan, Executive Vice President, Hero MotoCorp, and Ms Kavita Singh, President of the Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI).
Mr. Bhan assured of Hero MotoCorp’s continued support to women’s golf and was happy to see the way the game in India has progressed. He said, “It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to the 17th edition of the Hero Women’s Indian Open and the 15th occasion that is going to be played at this wonderful golf course, which is the gem of India, the jewel of India.
“I’m sure the week ahead is going to be full of surprises, pleasant ones with that. We have wonderful ladies from 31 different nationalities here with us. It’s going to be an unforgettable week, I’m sure.
“We have a field which, this time around, is perhaps one of the best fields we’ve ever had. We have some incredible players and we are looking forward to an incredible week.”
“At Hero, our commitment to the game has been both profound and extremely deep. We continue to make sure that we stay invested and make sure that this game deserves the support it needs, at least in those areas and parts of the world where golf is still a sport in its nascent state. We are doing our bit and we encourage everyone.”
Ms. Singh added, “I’m happy to say that the team at DLF have done a fabulous job and I know how hard everyone has worked in getting the course ready.
“I think we’re going to have a really good week of golf and a good year coming forth. The girls have been playing well. They said the course is playing really differently to last year, where it was dry, it was quick. I think it was different, this course, as we all know, plays differently in different seasons. And I think the greens are holding true, the ball is checking, so I think that should be good for us. We’re looking forward to some great golf.“
Among the Indians in the field, Diksha Dagar has come closest to winning the coveted Trophy, when she finished third in the 2023 edition. After a steady season, which includes five Top-10 finishes, she hopes to finally get her hands on the Trophy.
Two-time LET winner Diksha was confident as she said, “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.”
Tvesa Malik, who is here for a tenth appearance at her National Open, added, “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’s 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.”
Hitaashee Bakshi, carried the most inspiring message stuck on her yardage book peeping out of her trouser pocket. It read: “Jeet ke Aana” (Come back with a win).
Hitaashee revealed that whenever she leaves for a tournament, her mother says, “Come back with a win” and it has become her motivation.
Dagar apart, the other strong Indian challengers will include Pranavi Urs, Avani Prashanth, Sneha Singh, Amandeep Drall and Vani Kapoor.
Hitaashee, who is finding her feet on the LET in her rookie season, and plays a lot at the DLF course said, “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. 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.”
Among the internationals, Tamburlini will be a big favourite. She has been in good form all year with nine top-10 finishes this season.
Tamburlini said, “It’s obviously really cool to be back here. Interesting to see the course in the shape that it is. It is in really good condition, but just quite different from last year, which, I have to say, is kind of nice too.
“It was really, really difficult last year. Not that it’s easy this year, but 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.”
The Hero Women’s Indian Open sees a field of 110, with 29 Indians. 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.
Apart from Rhodes, there are three other winners from the 2025 season – English Alice Hewson, Singapore’s Shannon Tan, and Czechia’s Sara Kouskova.
With just four events of the LET season remaining, the battle to crown the number one player is heating up and three of the top four players on the Order of Merit are in attendance.
England’s Rhodes, who leads both the Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year, leads Singapore’s Tan by 209.54 points with Czechia’s Sara Kouskova 498.76 behind the three-time LET winner.
The field represents 31 nationalities and carries a purse of US $ 500,000 of which US$ 75,000 will go to the winner of the event at the Gary Player designed par-72 championship course.
