Home favourite Hitaashee Bakshi all but secured her full playing rights for 2026 at the Hero Women’s Indian Open after the 21-year-old recorded her best ever finish on the Ladies European Tour (LET).
Teeing up at her home club DLF Golf and Country Club – the Delhi course she has been a member at for 14 years – Bakshi lit things up over the first three days carding rounds of 70-67-70 to lead by three shots with 18 holes remaining.
Sadly it wasn’t to be for the Indian on Sunday, Bakshi carding a 76 (+3) as Singapore’s Shannon Tan claimed victory, but thanks to an excellent week she was still able to finish solo third and record her best finish to date on the LET.
With the brilliant showing, Bakshi, competing in her first full season on the LET, jumped 52 spots on the Order of Merit rising from 108 to 56. She also played her way into next week’s Wistron Ladies Open as well as the season-ending Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España. The top-70 come the end of the season will earn a full card for 2026.
Bakshi said: “It’s really good because I was playing this tournament to save my card. If I wasn’t going to play well in this tournament and perform well, I knew I was going to have to go to LET Q-School. I was almost booking the tickets honestly.
“After two days, my aim was [then] to win the tournament. I lost track of what my best finish on the LET is because my whole aim was to try to win the event.”
The 2025 Hero Women’s Indian Open proved to be a full circle moment for Bakshi who volunteered at this tournament during her teenage years.
The rising Indian star, winner of last year’s Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI) Order of Merit, was cheered on by the home crowds from start to finish in New Delhi.
Reflecting on the week, Bakshi said: “I love how the whole crowd came out and cheered me on. It’s amazing. This is all I wanted.
“There were so many people coming out to watch and I have received so many messages and so much love. These kids shouting my name and it didn’t matter if I was making a double bogey, they were saying you could do it. It was amazing.”
Next up for Bakshi and the stars of the LET is a trip to Chinese Taipei for the Wistron Ladies Open. The four-day, $1,000,000 event gets underway on 23 October.
