Vani Kapoor will take a one shot lead into the final round of the Hero Women’s Indian Open as she eyes a “dream” victory at her home course DLF Golf & Country Club.
The Indian sits atop of the Ladies European Tour (LET) leaderboard on five-under par thanks to back-to-back rounds of 69 (-3) in Delhi.
Defending champion Shannon Tan is one back on four-under par after a brilliant 67 (-5) on moving day. Another past winner, Pornanong Phatlum from Thailand, shares second spot with the Singaporean heading into the final round. The LPGA star won this tournament in 2008, 2009 and 2012 and is returning to India for the first time in 14 years this week.
After overnight leader Chiara Tamburlini dropped two shots in her opening two holes at the ever-challenging DLF Golf & Country Club, Kapoor took advantage of the situation making birdies at the 2nd, 6th and 7th to claim a share of the lead. The 32-year-old followed this up with another at the 11th before dropping her first shot of the day at the 15th. Kapoor would bounce back with a fine birdie at the signature 17th thanks to a lovely approach but unfortunately gave another shot back to the field at the18th.
“I enjoyed myself out there,” Kapoor said. “I think it was one the most fun rounds that I’ve ever had. I mean, of course it was a little up-and-down towards the end, but I’m glad that I kept it together. The game’s feeling good. I left a few putts out there which was quite frustrating, but I think given the state [of my game], hopefully things will just keep getting better.
“I think this is probably my 14th or 15th Hero Women’s Indian Open as a professional and I’ve played like a couple more before as an amateur and I think this is the most fun I’ve ever had out there. Just a little more belief than usual that I have. So yeah, keeping my fingers crossed and just following the process.”
Only one home player has ever won the Hero Women’s Indian Open in its 17 year history – LPGA star Aditi Ashok back in 2016. Leading the way, Kapoor is one of three Indians in the top-10 heading the final round with Asian Games Gold Medallist Pranavi Urs two back in a tie for fourth and fellow DLF member Tvesa Malik four shots back in a tie for eighth.
“I’m just going to trust my process,” Kapoor said when asked about the significance of India having a home winner tomorrow. “There would be no better place to get my maiden win – at DLF, my home course with my friends and family around. It’s definitely a dream and hopefully God will be kind enough to make that happen.
“It’s so good to see a few Indians in the top-10 again [heading into the final round]. Women’s golf is definitely growing in India, especially with the girls winning medals at the Asian Games too. There’s more eyeballs on us.”
Standing in Kapoor’s way as the tournament favourite is defending champion and LET Order of Merit winner Tan. After a disastrous back-nine yesterday on the course’s front-nine, one which saw Tan drop seven shots, the Singaporean fought back incredibly despite wrist pain going out in 31 shots (-5). She would make three more birdies on the back-nine but dropped three shots for a round of 67 (-5).
“To be fair, on the front nine today, all my putts just went in,” Tan said. “I think when you’re playing well on this course, you can actually go quite low. But if your ball-striking is a bit off, it can go the other way. There is a lot of difference this course can make on your score and it can get quite extreme.
“Yesterday, I started well, but towards the back nine, my wrist started flaring up a little. With my wrist, I was a bit scared of missing it right. I would either flip it over or move it out right. I saw the physio yesterday, who did a lot of work on it and then I iced it to be game ready. I’m basically just trying to ice it and tape it.”
Tan is going in pursuit of a fourth victory on the LET this week and is aiming to become the first player this season to defend a title. Alice Hewson was the last player to successfully defend her title on the LET at the 2025 VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open.
On the task ahead, Tan said: “I’ll go ahead with the same game plan I had today and just try to hit fairways and greens, which I think is quite important on this course. Of course, it would be nice to win, but at the same time, I’ll just focus on what I can do. I can’t control what everyone else does, so I’ll focus on my game, myself.”
Phatlum meanwhile is also looking to get her hands on the historic Hero Women’s Indian Open again. The 36-year-old posted a scorecard of 69 (-3) on Saturday – one which included birdies at the 4th, 7th, 11th, 13th and 16th.
All three of Phatlum’s Hero Women’s Indian Open wins came on DLF’s neighbouring Arnold Palmer course which has now been converted into a nine-hole track. This week is the Thai star’s first appearance on the challenging Gary Player Championship Course.
She explained: “I’ve never played this course before and I try to focus every shot because it’s a really, really tough course. I think I did pretty good for last three rounds. I’m very happy to be back here and I feel like [all of] Asia is like my home. I feel very comfortable and everyone welcomes me and makes me feel like very comfortable and it’s easy to focus on my game.
“It will be a big challenge tomorrow because I played with Vani [Kapoor] today and she played very good. I tried to keep up with her and tried to make more birdies. Also Shannon [Tan], she is a very good player. I saw at her some tournaments on the LPGA and she is a very good player. Tomorrow can be very fun.”
In a tie for fourth on three-under par sit the before-mentioned Urs and Argentina’s Magdalena Simmermacher. Another former champion, 2017 winner Camille Chevalier from France, is one back in a tie for sixth alongside the in-form Sara Kouskova from Czechia.
The fourth and final round of the 2026 Hero Women’s Indian Open gets under way on Sunday morning at 9:00 local time. The leading group of Kapoor, Tan and Phatlum will go out at 11:00 local time.
Follow all the action throughout the tournament via @LETgolf on Instagram and X and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #HWIO2026
