Diksha Dagar meets Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Chairman – LIV Golf and Governor – PIF of Saudi Arabia, at Riyadh Golf Club
Delhi’s Diksha Dagar ended the US$1 million Aramco Team Series Riyadh event on the Ladies European Tour (LET) with a strong final round, carding a 3-under 69 to vault up the leaderboard from T58 to T29. Fellow Indian Pranavi Urs of Mysore, on the other hand slipped with a final day 4-over 76 dropping from T18 to T44.
A notable moment for Diksha was her meeting with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Chairman of LIV Golf and Aramco, and a key figure on the global stage.
In 2023, Diksha was India’s only fully exempt player on the LET, but with Pranavi securing her full time playing rights in 2024, India now has two regulars on the tour, a major step forward for Indian women’s golf. Pranavi’s journey has been backed by sustained corporate financial support for the past three years, enabling her to gain important tournament experience internationally—a crucial factor for developing more Indian players to be competitive on global tours.
And looking forward to 2025, three Indian players—Bangalore’s 18-year-old Avani Prashanth who has made waves in the World Amateur scene and recently turned Pro, 2024 Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour of India (HWPGTI) No. 1 – Hitaashee Bakshi, and the 2023 HWPGTI No. 1 – Sneha Singh—will look to secure their LET cards at the final stage of qualifying next month.
Getting to the final stage is not easy but even there, participation comes at a significant financial cost to the players and their families, with each player incurring costs of around ₹8 Lacs just to compete. For players like Hitaashee, this amount exceeds more than half of her 2024 season’s total earnings on the Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI) tour. Without institutional support, players are left running from pillar to post to secure corporate sponsorship, making it challenging for them to gather the backing needed to compete overseas.
India Golf Weekly implores corporates to come forward to support these talented players to help India make a mark on the world scene.