Diksha Dagar becomes second Indian to win Ladies European Tour title

Diksha Dagar won the South African Open, following Aditi Ashok's footsteps as the other Indian woman to win on Ladies European Tour.

Published : Mar 16, 2019 22:29 IST

Diksha Dagar became only the second Indian woman to win on Ladies European Tour after clinching the South African Open, eking out a one-shot victory with a bogey-free final round, in Cape Town Saturday.

Dagar, 18, was trailing by two shots, but pipped the much-experienced Lee Anne Pace with a three-under final round.

Dagar follows Aditi Ashok, who in 2016 became the first Indian to win on the LET. Aditi added two more LET wins and now plays on the LPGA.

Here's the winning moment:

 

Dagar played at the Women’s Hero Indian Open as an amateur and made the cut. Her father, Narinder Dagar, who served in the Army, was on the bag for Diksha. He has helped her cope with her hearing impairment. She has been wearing hearing aids since the age of six.

Dagar won silver at the 2017 Summer Deaflympics. She also had a stellar Amateur career during which she represented India at the 2018 Asian Games and won the 2018 Singapore Amateur title. She also won a Pro event on the Indian domestic Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour, before turning pro at the start of this year.

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Diksha Dagar had a stellar Amateur career during which she represented India at the 2018 Asian Games and won the 2018 Singapore Amateur title.
 

Dagar, who came in off a long flight from Australia, where she was Tied-5th at the NSW Open last week, began the week with double bogeys in the first three holes. She had one more bogey on the 12th hole and ended the first day with a 76 but scoring was tough on a windy day and she was still inside Top-20. She played the next 42 holes without a blemish and finished at five-under 211, while Lee-Anne (72) ended at four-under 212. She rose to second by the end of the second day and won the title on the final day.

Esther Henseleit (70) of South Africa and Michele Thompson (68) of Australia were tied for third at three-under 212, and Carly Booth (69) of England was fifth at 2-under 214.

A left-hander, Diksha is well-known for brand of aggressive and fearless golf. Her brother, Yogesh, who is also deaf, also plays golf and has been playing in age-group events.