Saturday, 05 October 2024

FIRST INDIAN WOMAN | Diksha seeks to maintain her strong run in 2023 as she plays in the Netherlands

IANS | Updated on Thursday, September 07, 2023 11:13 AM IST
Diksha seeks to maintain her strong run in 2023 as she plays in the Netherlands

HILVERSUM,THE NETHERLANDS: Diksha Dagar who is coming off two successive Top-10 finishes will be looking to make another charge at a title when she tees up at the Big Green Egg Open.

Diksha, who has one win and five Top-10s this season is third on the LET Order of Merit, is also aiming to become the first Indian woman to win the Merit list in Europe.

The current top two on the Merit list, France’s Celine Boutier and Spain’s Ana Pelaez Trivino, are missing the event, so Diksha can close the gap or even overtake them with a win his week.

Dagar won the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open in June and her five Top-10 finishes include those at the ISPS Handa Invitational and the KPMG Women’s Irish Open. She was also T-21 at the AIG Women’s Open, which was also the best by an Indian woman at a Major.

Another incentive is that Diksha can also earn a LPGA card and join Aditi Ashok in the US, if she finishes in Top-4 on the LET order of Merit.

There are still six events left in this season’s schedule and one of them is at Diksha’s home, the Hero Women’s Indian Open in October. So, she has a great chance to make a dash for the top honours in the Order of Merit.

The field includes India’s amateur star Avani Prashanth, Tvesa Malik, Vani Kapoor and Amandeep Drall, runner-up at the Hero Women’s Indian Open.

The 22-year-old Diksha has her father, Col Narender Dagar as her caddie and they have forged a great team.

Avani Prashanth, who plans to turn pro when she plays the LET Q-School later this year, has won the Queen Sirikit Cup and then became the first Indian woman to secure a win at the LET Access Tour, the second rung Tour for women in Europe. Only two Indians have won titles on the main Ladies European Tour – four by Aditi and two by Diksha.

Tvesa, who struggled through 2022 and first half of 2023, is making a comeback. Last week she was T-36 and this week she is playing on a sponsor’s invite.

 

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