Diksha Dagar wins Czech LET golf title

Diksha Dagar capped her remarkable consistency and form with a commanding win in the €300,000 Tipsport Czech Ladies Open on Sunday, claiming her second Ladies European Tour title.

The 22-year-old, who held a five-shot lead after Saturday’s second round, was unchallenged as she finished on a 13-under 203 for the tournament after carding a 3-under 69 in the third and final round at the Royal Beroun Golf Club in Czech Republic.

Diksha’s rise to prominence in Indian golf has also been about overcoming adversity. Born with hearing problems, she started wearing hearing aids at the age of six. She started playing left-handed aged 12 and is guided by father, Col. Narinder Nagar, who is also her caddie.

She played in the Tokyo Olympics with Aditi Ashok, who finished fourth.

Having finished 10-under on Saturday, her main rival was Thailand’s Trichat Cheenglab, who had shot a final-round 64 to finish 9-under for the tournament. Diksha though built on her advantage with birdies on the 7th and 9th holes to go 12-under, a three-shot lead. With the rest of the field not looking much of a threat, Diksha steadied herself after a bogey-5 on the 10th before finishing in some style with birdies on the par-5 15th and 18th holes.

Diksha becomes only the second Indian woman to win more than once on the LET while ending the wait for her second title. Her first had come in only her fourth start as a pro in 2019, her rookie year, at the South Africa Women’s Open.

India No. 1 Aditi Ashok has four wins on LET, the latest being the season-opener — Kenya Ladies Open. Aditi, now playing on the Ladies PGA, is second in the Race to Costa del Sol Ranking (Order of Merit) while Diksha’s win lifted her to fifth in the standings.

Diksha (69+65+69 = 203) broke clear with a joint low score in the second round that featured five birdies and an eagle. Trichat (73+70+64 =207) was second with Celin Herbin third, a further shot behind (69+72+67=208).

She has been a picture of consistency this season, the win coming after three top-10 finishes in her previous four events. She was T-6 at last month’s Belgian Ladies Open and T-8 and T-3 at this month’s Helsingborg Open (Sweden) and Amundi German Masters respectively.

After her second round, Diksha spoke about her familiarity with the Royal Beroun Golf Club course, having played a few times.

"I’m feeling very happy. I finally won after five years. My first win just happened and for this event, I really worked hard. For the last three weeks, I was very close to a win and it has finally happened,” Diksha said after the win on Sunday.

"I feel so happy to be part of the winner’s circle again. It has given me confidence and I finally believe in myself that, yes, I can do it."

Diksha also spoke about the butterflies late in the round.

"I saw the scoreboard on the 16th and thought 'thank God I made a birdie on the 15th'. I faced a difficult chip on 16 and after I made a par, I thought with two holes to go and a three-shot lead, I can finally breathe a little more easily."

She also thanked her father for caddying for her. Diksha said her main goal was to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

"My key to success was just following the routine. I have worked on my putting skills and also been getting a lot of sleep, which keeps you focused."

Two other Indians were in the field. Pranavi Urs was T-17 and Ridhima Dilawari T-51.

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