New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANS) The Hero Women’s Indian Open, which tees off at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) Nov 28, will see a competitive field including the Ladies European Tour (LET) stars Gwladys Nocera of France and Britain’s Holly Clyburn.
The $300,000 event – tri-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour (LET), the Ladies Asian Golf Tour (LAGT) and Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI) – will also see LPGA Symetra Tour Money leader P.K. Kongkraphan of Thailand in action.
The seventh edition of the tournament, which for the first time will be hosted at the historic (DGC) will have a field of 108 golfers from around 30 countries, three amateurs included.
Though the final list of golfers will be known as the tournament dates come closer, confirmations have also been received from Sharmila Nicollet, who is the youngest Indian to have qualified for the LET, current Hero Order of Merit leader Neha Tripathi and Smriti Mehra, a former LPGA player. Young stars like Vani Kapoor, Saaniya Sharma and Ankita Tiwana will also be adding strength to the Indian challenge at the event.
Announcing this here Wednesday, Hero Motocorp CEO Pawan Munjal said, “In a very short span of time, the Indian Open has made significant progress and grown in stature on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and the Ladies European Tour. The participation of top-notch players from around the world validates the importance of this tournament in the international golfing calendar.”
Gwladys had a great season last year with a fifth place finish at the Gold Coast RACV Ladies Masters and joint fifth at the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters. She is currently placed fourth in the ISPS Handa Order of Merit 2013 with total earnings of 150,894 euros from 19 appearances.
Holly Clyburn, who is currently placed sixth in the ISPS Handa Order of Merit 2013 with total earnings of 109,181 euros, from 14 appearances will also be seen in action this year at the Indian Open.
Another attraction to the tournament is PK Kongkraphan. The Thai golfer currently is the leader at the LPGA Symetra Tour with total earnings of $47,283.00 from 14 outings. She has won the Northeast Delta Dental International tournament and finished runner’s up at the Credit Union Classic tournament this year.
The event will also see participation from Jacqueline Hedwall from Sweden, the twin sister of 2011 winner Caroline Hedwall.
