Gurugram: Over the past two days, golfers have been speaking of the pace of the DLF Golf and Country Club course with a fair degree of trepidation and the opening day of the $400,000 Hero Women’s Indian Open (HWIO) showed why. The lightening-fast greens meant putts were routinely missed, the approach shots were regularly tested, and quite a few players walked off with pursed lips, rolling eyes, and drooping shoulders.

By the time the play was suspended due to insufficient light, only seven in the 114-strong field had gone under par and only five could make par. With a superb three-under, given the conditions, Czech Republic’s Sara Kouskova ended in solo clubhouse lead.

Spain’s Mireia Prat, who led for most of the day, was tied second at two-under along with Frenchwoman Perrine Delacour and England’s Florentyna Parker. Maria Hernandez of Spain, Singapore’s Shannon Tan, and Moroccan Maha Haddioui were next at one-under.

Ridhima Dilawari and Pranavi Urs were the best among 27 Indians, both tied 17th at two-over alongside current LET OOM’s top two occupants Chiara Tamburlini and Manon De Roey.

“I didn’t strike that well. I hit a lot of greens to be honest but whenever I missed the green, I made bogey and I couldn’t control the ball. I am quite upset with the course but it is same for everyone. If you play good golf and hit good shots, you can still do well here,” said Tamburlini.

The local trio of Tvesa Malik, Diksha Dagar and Hitaashee Bakshi had a horror day with Malik carding five-over (T-56), Dagar shooting six-over (T-63), and Bakshi eight-over (T-78).

“I didn’t get the chemistry going with the course,” said Dagar, looking visibly shocked. “It was a tough day, lots of missed putts. I landed on the wrong side of the greens quite a few times.”

“They rolled the course a little too much which made the greens very fast. I was playing here after a long time, so I couldn’t get used to the speed. I am coming off a tournament in Taiwan where the course was quite slow. Here, the ball was running off the greens. I was never sure whether to hit long or short, not certain which way the ball will break. Some of the good shots I hit also missed the pin,” Dagar, who was third here in 2023, said.

Kouskova, who had finished fifth last year, made a strong push on Day 1 but remained conservative about her chances. “A lot of golf is yet to be played. I have to be patient and confident over the next few days,” said the 25-year-old.

Kouskova’s three birdies in the bogey-free front nine were followed by birdies on the 11th and 12th holes before she floundered with a triple bogey on the 13th. She recovered with an eagle on the 15th and despite a bogey on the 16th, the lead was enough to put her in pole position.

“The front nine was wild. I made a triple bogey but we were like, ‘okay, this is DLF, this is what can happen.’ We stayed very positive and almost laughed about how ridiculous it can be here. I hit a really good shot on 15. I thought it was a really good distance and it ended up pitching just short and going in the hole,” she said.

“I think I’ll do the same tomorrow and play as confident as possible. I love it here in India. Last year was my first time and we have lots of good memories. I was able to secure my LET card here last year. So that was a happy memory.”

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