Amandeep Drall finished 2nd and had the lead with 9 to play
A record four Indians finished in the top 8 places in the US$400,000 event which saw a strong field of Ladies European Players in the field.
Amandeep Drall finishes 2nd, Aditi Ashok 4th, Gaurika Bishnoi 6th and Vani Kapoor 8th.
Chandigarh’s Amandeep Drall, entered the final round with a one shot lead after shooting 67-72-67 , but fired a final round 72 to end up at 10-under 278 and tied-2nd with Caroline Hedwall of Sweden, the 2011 edition winner of the tournament.
On the final day, hopes of an Indian victory were high as after 9 holes, Drall held a two-shot lead at 12-under. However, bogeys by Drall on 11 and 14 combined with birdies by Cowan on 15 & 17 saw Drall’s lead slip away but her tied-2nd finish will help her get increased playing opportunities in Europe in 2023.
The 2016 Winner, Aditi Ashok played steadily but couldn’t threaten for the title , shooting 70-71-69-71 (7-under 281) to finish fourth in her first appearance in India since 2017.
Local DLF player Gaurika Bishnoi didn’t get enough momentum in the final round ending with a 73 to finish at 4-under 284 in 6th place followed by another DLF based player, Vani Kapoor who finished strongly with a 69 for a total of 3-under 285 and an 8th place finish. This is the first time that four Indian players finished inside the top-10 at the Hero Women’s Indian Open.
A total of 30 Indians started the event and 15 made the cut including 3 amateurs – Avani Prashanth of Bangalore, California based Anika Varma and Mysore’s Vidhatri Urs.
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Avani Prashanth wins top Amateur prize
Alex Armas (CEO, LET), Dr. Pawan Munjal (Chairman, Hero Motocorp) , Avani Prashanth (Top Amateur finisher), Mrs. Kavita Singh (President, WGAI) & Tusch Daroga (VP, DLF Golf & CC)
16-year-old Avani Prashanth of Bangalore finished strongly with rounds of 69-67 to run away with the top amateur prize and grab a creditable 12th place finish.
Avani’s final round was one of only two 67’s on the final day and her last 36 hole total of -8 was bettered only by the eventual winner Olivia Cowan who scored -10 on the weekend. With this finish, Avani officially earned her first points in the Official World Golf Ranking for professionals – as she sets her sights on qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In India, recently Avani recently won the National Games and the IGU Western India Ladies by 10 shots. She will be part of the 3 member ladies squad for the Asian Games next year along with professionals Aditi Ashok and Tvesa Malik.
Anika Varma, a first year student in Oregon University, USA was the next best amateur at 5-over 293 followed by Vidhatri Urs who was playing in her first Women’s Indian Open.
OLIVIA COWAN, THE NEW CHAMPION
Dr Pawan Munjal, Chairman & CEO, Hero MotoCorp handing the HWIO trophy to Germany’s Olivia Cowan
26-year-old Olivia Cowan of Germany held her nerve to take her first European Tour title with a strong showing on the weekend, recording rounds of 71-71-65-68 to register a three-shot win.
After winning her first LET title since joining the Tour in 2015, the 26-year-old was very emotional at the prize presentation. She said, “I have come close a few times, but I am so happy to get over the line. I love coming here and this is going to be one of my most memorable moments and I will come back again to try and win this Trophy again.”
“I was quite relaxed. To be honest. The whole weekend. I wasn’t really thinking of winning this time. I just wanted to go out there and have a good mindset and just play good golf. I was playing good golf so I just decided to trust that and come out today and just see what happens.”
Cowan’s previous two visits to India produced finishes of T19 in 2017 and T9 in 2018 and this year her best on the Tour was 4th in her home event, the German Masters.
DLF Continues to challenge players
The DLF Golf & CC once again proved a tough venue for the visitors with the top 50 players and ties making the cut after 36 holes at 8 over par, the highest for any tournament on the European Tour all year.
DLF has always been the highest cut off score of the year for the European Tour – the previous cut lines at the event have been:
2019 – +7
2018 – +7
2017 – +4
2016 – +10
2015 – +12
Three aces were scored but none as dramatic as Seher Atwal’s as she followed the ace with two pars to just make the cut into the final two rounds.
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Day 1 – Hole 16 – Par-3 145 yards – Gabrielle Macdonald
Day 2 – Hole 16 – Par-3 163 yards – Seher Atwal
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Credits:-
Photo – LET Flickr