All eyes on Aditi as Indian Open tees off

New Delhi, November 8 

Brimming with confidence after claiming her third title on the Ladies European Tour last week, defending champion Aditi Ashok will look to retain the Hero Women’s Indian Open, which tees off at the DLF Golf course here tomorrow.

Aditi, who had won the Hero Indian Open and Qatar Ladies Open last year, clinched the Fatima Bin Mubarak Ladies Open in Abu Dhabi last week, but the 19-year-old from Bangaluru will have to fight her way through one of the strongest fields, comprising 114 players from over 25 countries, to defend her title.

Among the other Indians in fray, the focus will be on Sharmila Nicollet, who is back after spending three months in the US. 

From the domestic pool, Hero Order of Merit leader Gaurika Bishnoi will be keen to translate her success at the Indian Open.

Vani Kapoor, Amandeep Drall, Neha Tripathi and Smriti Mehra, who have been playing quite a few events on the Ladies European Tour, as also in Asia, will also be watched closely.

The strength of the field has been bolstered by the presence of four of the top five players from the Ladies European Tour’s 2016 Order of Merit.

Apart from Aditi, who finished overall second and also won the Rookie of the Year title last year, the field will feature Beth Allen, Florentyna Parker and Isabelle Boineau.

World No. 20 Carlota Ciganda, who has been to India before, divides her time between the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA these days, and is back to India for this year’s Indian Open.

“The win last year set the bar for me and then I won two in a row. Qualifying for the LPGA was good. The first half of the year was a struggle as I didn’t know if I would be playing that week or not, as I had a conditional status,” said Aditi.

“I played a lot of LPGA events. I also got to play all five Majors, which was a great experience as a rookie. I didn’t play as well as I hoped in LPGA, but last week was better and I am happy to be here this week,” she added.

“I hit 88 per cent of greens last week and with the putting if I can do that then it would be a very good score. I think that was the key. I like this golf course, but my chances will be just as everybody else’s and I would need three good days to win the title again,” Aditi pointed out.

The biggest contingent from outside India is from Thailand. Thai players have won the Indian Open four times, of which Phatlum Pornanong won three times.

She is not here this time, but the 2013 Hero Women’s Indian Open winner Thidapa Suwannapura is in fine form, having finished tied-sixth in Abu Dhabi.

Another player to watch out for will be Patcharajutar Kongkraphon, who would be looking to emulate Phatlum and Thidapa. — PTI