Women's Golf Prize Money Reaches Highest Purse At 10 Lakh Rupees

The Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI) enters a new era with its first domestic Rs 10 lakh event as the number of professionals in fray rises to 26 alongside three amateurs for the seventh leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour. This is the largest field assembled at the fledgling domestic Hero WGAI Tour. The purse also rises to an all-time high of R 10 lakhs for a domestic event.

Barring Aditi Ashok, Diksha Dagar, Vani Kapoor, and Sharmila Nicollet, all other leading Indian women pros are playing in the event. While Aditi is playing on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), Sharmila is on the Symetra Tour in the US. Diksha Dagar is in Europe getting ready for her maiden appearance in a Major, as she plays the Evian and Women’s British Open.

It is a major landmark for the Tour, whose President Kavita Singh and Secretary General Champika Sayal have taken the Tour to a new level. Coupled with this, the WGAI has also held the Hero Women’s Indian Open for 12 years in a row. This season, Diksha Dagar also won on the Ladies European Tour (LET) with a maiden title in the Women’s South African Open, signalling a new high for Indian women’s golf. Earlier, Aditi has won three LET titles in 2016 and 2017.

The seventh leg to be held at the Clover Greens in Hosur, Tamil Nadu will see the resumption of the Hero WGAI Tour after a gap of two and a half months. This is the first of four events scheduled in Southern India this season and the next leg is also scheduled in Bengaluru.

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The past six legs have seen five winners, with only Ridhima Dilawari winning twice in three starts. Neha Tripathi, Gaurika Bishnoi, Gursimar Badwal and Tvesa Malik have one win each.

It is a major landmark for the Tour, whose President Kavita Singh and Secretary General Champika Sayal have taken the Tour to a new level. Coupled with this, the WGAI has also held the Hero Women’s Indian Open for 12 years in a row.

Neha, who currently leads the Hero Order of Merit, holds an Rs 31,000 lead over Gaurika Bishnoi who has played five events, as compared to Neha’s six starts. Gaurika, in turn, is Rs 40,000 ahead of Gursimar Badwal, who has also played all six events so far. Amandeep Drall, Ridhima Dilawari who has played just three events and Siddhi Kapoor are fourth, fifth and sixth on the merit list.

With 29 players in the fray including three amateurs, Pranavi Urs, Sneha Sharan, and Asmitha Sathish, there will be 10 flights with the first one comprising Anisha Padukone and rookie Tanirika Singh playing in a two-ball.

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