Hulencourt: Diksha Dagar’s impressive run on the Ladies European Tour showed no signs of slowing down as the in-form Indian produced another composed, bogey-free round to move into a share of the first-round lead at the Hulencourt Women’s Open on Thursday. Fellow Indian Aditi Ashok also made an encouraging start, finishing inside the top 10 after the opening day.
Diksha carded a flawless four-under 68 to join South Africa’s Nadia van der Westhuizen, Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux, and England’s Bronte Law at the top of the leaderboard after 18 holes.
Aditi, returning to the LET after a lengthy break, signed for a two-under 70 to occupy tied seventh place, while Avani Prashanth recovered strongly for an even-par 72 to be tied 24th. Another golfer, Pranavi Urs, opened with a one-over 73 and was tied for 33rd.
Starting in the morning wave, Diksha quickly settled into her rhythm and never looked back. She collected birdies on the first, sixth, 10th, and 14th holes while avoiding mistakes throughout the day despite demanding conditions at Hulencourt Golf Club.
“It was a very steady day of golf,” said the 25-year-old. “It was really tough conditions, but still we continued and stayed composed. I’m very happy that I went bogey-free. It was tough to read the greens, so I focused on the speed. The greens are also much faster than last week.”
The latest effort extends an outstanding stretch of form for Diksha, who has now strung together four consecutive top-20 finishes on the LET. Two weeks ago, she narrowly missed forcing a playoff at the Dutch Ladies Open after finishing tied third, and she arrived in Belgium placed 11th in the Order of Merit standings. IANS
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