Gurugram: Diksha Dagar, India’s best ranked player on the Ladies European Tour (LET), will the home hopes at the $400,000 Hero Women’s Indian Open starting at the DLF Golf and Country Club here on Thursday. Diksha, 22nd on the Order of Merit list, finished third in this event last year.

Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini, the LET OOM leader who has already won thrice this season, starts as the favourite at the challenge course. Belgium’s Manon De Roey, second in that list, England’s Alice Hewson and Amy Taylor, Perrine Delacour of France and Shannon Tan (Singapore) will also be in contention among the 114-player field.

Others among the 26 Indians in the fray are Tvesa Malik, who won her first international title in South Africa this year, and the talented 19-year-old Hitaashee Bakshi, who heads the Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI) OOM. Bakshi had equalled the course record here in March with an eight-under in the sixth leg of Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour (WPGT).

The course is expected to play firm and fast. “It’s always a tough course to play. The secret is to take one shot at a time. On courses like these, tee and approach shots become very important,” Diksha said.

The deep-faced bunkers, undulating and narrow fairways, water hazards and sharp bends approaching several greens, choice of shots and accuracy off the tee will be crucial.

“Short game, especially putting, is going to be tough. You have to be good at course management. You should know where to place the ball. You don’t want to end up on the wrong side here. This is a course that challenges all aspects of your game,” said Diksha, who missed the cut in her last event – Wistron Ladies Open in Taiwan – this month.

“The conditions in Taiwan were very different. It was quite windy, which meant we were not getting the desired distances. Here, it will be difficult to control the putts because the greens are so fast.”

Family woes, taekwondo

Dagar, who finished T49 at the Paris Olympics, blamed the car accident involving her and her parents in the French capital a week earlier for a below par showing. “It did affect my rhythm. My mother had spine injuries and had to be hospitalised. My dad, who caddies for me, was thus not around to help me. On the brighter side, I now have a story to narrate for a few years,” she joked.

With women players pushing the yardage, Dagar has realised the need to get fitter and stronger. She has started to lift heavier weights in the gym and is also taking taekwondo classes to build strength and endurance.

“The girls are hitting longer than ever and I felt the need to add power to my game to be able to do that. I started learning taekwondo only a few weeks back.”

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