After a short break in the Ladies European Tour (LET) schedule the circuit is in Delhi this week for the 15th staging of the Hero Women’s Indian Open.
A tournament which has continued to prove popular for players over the years, 120 players from 23 nations will compete for the trophy in the 26th event of the 2023 season.
DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram, a financial city on the outskirts of New Delhi, will once against play host for the sixth edition in a row.
Consistently ranked as one of the best venues in India, the Gary Player designed championship course provides a tough test featuring picturesque elevation and several water hazards.
The players will be battling it out for a prize fund of USD $400,000 when play gets under way on Thursday 19 October, with the winner of the 72-hole event crowned on Sunday 22nd October.
Olivia Cowan was victorious last time out as she fired a final round 68 (-4) to win by three shots and land her maiden LET title.
The German is not in Delhi to defend her title this year, but past champions Christine Wolf (2019) from Austria, Becky Morgan (2018) from Wales, and Camille Chevalier (2017) from France are all in the field hoping to taste silverware once again.
On top of this trio, seven winners from the 2023 season are in town hoping to put on another trophy winning performance. This includes Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab, Denmark’s Smilla Tarning Soenderby, Spanish duo Nuria Iturrioz and Carmen Alonso, India’s Diksha Dagar, and Swedish pair Lisa Pettersson and Johanna Gustavsson.
As for the latter, Gustavsson arrives in Gurugram as the highest ranked player in this season’s Race to Costa del Sol. The Lacoste Ladies Open de France champion currently sits second in the standings but can leapfrog the absentee Celine Boutier with a second place finish or better in India.
The same can also be said for the left-handed Dagar, with the fourth ranked player within 320 points of the French star.
While two-time LET winner Dagar is leading the domestic charge this week, there will also be plenty of local talent on show at DLF Golf and Country Club with 35 members from the Women’s Golf Association of India in the field.
A total of 32 Indian players will be looking to make their mark in front of the home fans, including the aforementioned Dagar, as well as Astha Madan, Tvesa Malik, Vani Kapoor and Amandeep Drall. All of which will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of Aditi Ashok (2016) in lifting the trophy on home soil.
With only four more events left in the 2023 LET schedule, the stakes are high in India as we approach the crunch end of the season.
The 2023 Hero Women’s Indian Open gets under way on Thursday 19 October. See the full list of entries here.
Follow all the action on @LETGolf on Instagram and X and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #RaiseOurGame #HWIO2023.
