Harpal Singh Bedi

New Delhi: Defending champion, Becky Morgan will  make bid to extend her lease on the trophy  as the  star studded  tenth edition  of Hero Women’s Indian Open (HWIO) is  set to be held at the Gary Player layout of the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram from  3-6 October.

45-year old Welsh golfer  Becky Morgan (UK)   is likely to face a tough challenge  from Camille Chevalier of France who was the winner in 2017. 

Other  foreign  participants include Beth Allen and Becky Brewerton — both former LET(Ladies European Tour) Order of Merit winners.

 LET winners such as Meghan MacLaren, Marianne Skarpnord, Kanyalak Preedasuttijit, Astrid Vayson de Pradenne, Florentyna Parker and Linda Wessberg will also be in the fray.

 Young Diksha Dagar, who recently became only the second Indian after Aditi Ashok to win on the LET  with her victory at the 2019 South African Women’s Open in March, will  lead the home challenge .Besides  Diksha other Indians in the fray are  Vani Kapoor, who has been in the Top-10 in the recent past; Gaurika Bishnoi, who put up a great show in 2018; Tvesa Malik and Ridhima Dilawari.

The players’ entries for the tournament have begun pouring in. With plenty of time remaining before the entry window closes, the field is likely to keep growing stronger.

 Talking to media person here on Thursday,  President, Women’s Golf Association of India Mrs. Kavita Singh, said, “It gives us great encouragement to see the event and the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour grow year on year, and to see the Indian players do well.

“On behalf of WGAI, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Hero MotoCorp, the Ladies European Tour and the many other sponsors and well-wishers for their continuous support.

For the second consecutive year, the Hero Women’s Indian Open will be played over 72 holes in four days that will be telecast live globally.

 Head – Corporate Communication, Hero MotoCorp Bharatendu Kabi  was of the view that , “Women’s Golf in the country was  witnessing a surge in the number of quality players and tournaments in recent years.” 

  “Indian Women golfers are already making their presence felt on international Tours, and the future looks quite promising. Having supported the sport around the world for over two decades, we at Hero MotoCorp take a lot of pride in seeing this growth of golf. Tournaments such as the Hero Women’s Indian Open have proved to be a major enabler of this growth 

We hope that the tournament will inspire more budding golfers to take up the sport as a preferred career. We thank the Ladies European Tour for their support to this tournament as well as women’s Golf in India over this past decade.”Kabi added.

HSB