As far as two week spells go on the Ladies European Tour (LET), few were more memorable in October than India’s Gaurika Bishnoi’s.
Prior to the Hero Women’s Indian Open a fortnight ago, Bishnoi – a seven-time winner on her domestic tour – had yet to compete on the LET in 2023 and was teeing up in her home event as one of 35 Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI) golfers in the field.
Having finished T6 at DLF Golf & Country Club in 2022, Bishnoi once again made the most of home course advantage carding rounds of 72-69-74-71 to finish T8 as Germany’s Aline Krauter stormed to victory.
Most importantly, though, the 25-year-old played her way into the final Aramco Team Series presented by PIF of the season thanks to the stellar showing in Delhi (Bishnoi earned one of two top-10 holding spots alongside Sweden’s Sara Kjellker).
Arriving at Riyadh Golf Club for her Aramco Team Series debut, Bishnoi’s week quickly get even better when it was announced she would be teaming up with American star Alison Lee.
Inspired by Lee’s heroics – the American broke and equalled several LET records over the first two days – Bishnoi made the cut before producing another fantastic performance on Sunday, matching the round of the day 64 (-8) to surge up the leaderboard and finish T19.
“This is my best ever round,” the Indian said. “Coming into the week I was in good form after the Hero Women’s Indian Open. It was just a matter of putting the pieces together. I stuck it very close to the pins and holed a lot of putts. To shoot eight-under you need everything to be on point. And today was the day where that happened.
“When I had the opportunity to play with Alison [Lee], I learned so much from her. It was amazing to watch her shoot those 11-under par rounds. So effortless. I learned so much from her, how she was managing the course, herself, and her game. I definitely reaped the benefit. I basically tried to do as much ‘Alison’ as I could!”
Having opened with an even-par round of 72 at Riyadh Golf Club, Bishnoi soon read the low scoring script on the weekend carding a 68 (-4) on Saturday which included one of the shots of the tournament on the par-4 18th.
Before the flawless 64 (-8) on Sunday helped Bishnoi jump 25 places in the leaderboard to eventually finish inside the top-20.
The 25-year-old said: “It’s been amazing. I’ve heard stories about the Aramco Team Series events and seen videos on the LET channels, but you really do feel the energy here.
“You can’t compare it to other events. It’s been amazing and definitely one of my favourite events. I’m going to try and play my way in every year now!”
As for the future, Bishnoi will now return to India to focus on finishing strong on the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour. The 25-year-old also has goals of winning on the LET one day, aiming to follow in the footsteps of compatriots Diksha Dagar and Aditi Ashok.
“I’ve been on a good run from the last Hero Women’s Indian Open,” she said. “I’ve won two tournaments at home and have had two-runner up finishes. My game has been trending nicely.
“But to be able to perform out of your comfort zone in another country against the cream of the crop, I think that is something that gives me so much confidence.”
