Led by Diksha Dagar and Johanna Gustavsson, two of the leading contenders for the Women’s Indian Open 2023, the star players got off to a fine start in the $400,000 event. Competing in the Skills Challenge, two teams – Europe and Rest of the World – each comprising four players, got a ‘competitive’ taste of what lies ahead at the DLF Golf and Country Club.
Europe and the Rest of the World shared the honours for the second straight year, winning two Skills each. The European foursome included Christine Wolf (the HWIO 2019 winner), Johanna Gustavsson (winner of Open de France), Nuria Iturrioz (winner of La Sella Open), and Meghan MacLaren (winner of Australian Women’s 2022). The Rest of the World team featured Tvesa Malik (WGAI OOM winner 2019), Diksha Dagar (Winner Czech Ladies Open and Olympian), Trichat Cheenglab (Winner Big Green Egg Open), and Magdalena Simmermacher (Olympian).
Europe won the 120-yard pitch and ‘Hit the Hero Bike’ through Christine Wolf and Nuria Iturrioz, respectively. In the final “Long Putt” Skill, Tvesa Malik forced a 2-2 tie, making both teams recipients of Rs. 1,68,000 each.
Notably, Christine Wolf and Meghan MacLaren were on the European side a year ago, as were Diksha and Tvesa on the Rest of the World team. On Wednesday, the Hero Women’s Indian Open will host its customary Pro-Am event with celebrities playing alongside the top professionals.
