Diksha Dagar Secures Top-Three Finish at Joburg Ladies Open
Tokyo Olympian Diksha Dagar brought in her best result of the season on the Ladies European Tour with a shared third place finish at the Joburg Ladies Open on Sunday.
Wiry Indian left-hander Diksha Dagar scored her best finish of the current Ladies European Tour season with a tied third place finish at the Joburg Ladies Open in South Africa on Sunday.
The two-time LET winner put in a late rally at the par-73 Modderfontein Golf Club near Johannesburg for a closing 3 under par 70 to go with earlier cards of 73, 71, and 69 to total 9 under par 283. Compatriots Tvesa Malik was tied for 29th place on level par 292, and Vani Kapoor and Ridhima Dilawari finished further down the order.
Switzerland’s rookie Chiara Tamburlini shot an impressive 17 under 275 with scores of 70, 68, 67, and 70 for her maiden LET title, seven strokes ahead of fellow newcomer Aunchisa Utama of Thailand who totalled 10 under 282. Spain’s Luna Sobron Galmes was tied for third alongside Diksha.
Tokyo Olympian Diksha had four birdies over the final nine holes to climb the standings with a 3 under par total on Sunday to record her third top 10 finish of the season after a ninth place in Morocco and finishing sixth in Florida.
Diksha bogeyed once on the front nine on Sunday but steady golf thereafter meant no further damage to her card and on her back nine, she birdied holes 11, 12 and 13 and 18 for a prize money cheque of Euro 15,750 that took her to 11th place in the season-long order of merit.
Up next for all four Indians in the Johannesburg field is the Investec South African Ladies Open that gets under way on Thursday in Cape Town.
Tvesa Malik (71-75-72-74) was tied for 24th overnight and had started her Sunday round well with three birdies before the turn before she dropped three shots on the final nine holes with two bogeys and a double and fell to tied 29th. Vani Kapoor (76-75-70-74) was T41 on 3 over 295 and Ridhima Dilawari finished T66th on 11 over 303.
At the top, Tamburlini completed a dominant performance to win by seven strokes from her Thai playing partner. After a bogey-free run on Saturday, the 24-year-old Swiss sank seven birdies on her way to a closing 3 under 70, making her the third from her country to win on the LET.
Tamburlini later told the LET website, “This obviously means a lot, Being able to win on the LET in like my seventh start or so this year is really special. It just feels like all the hard work has paid off. I am honestly speechless at the moment and beyond grateful to be here and be able to win this tournament today.”
The second first-time LET winner this season added: “I had always dreamed about it but I didn’t know that I was actually capable of doing it, so to be standing here now is just very, very nice. I just tried to go lower and lower and keep pushing until the end really. I think that is what kept me in it. I
just set myself small little goals during the round, so I didn’t get comfortable, and I think that worked out really well.”
Tamburlini is the second rookie to win this season after Shannon Tan of Singapore at the season opening Magical Kenya Ladies Open. Belgium’s Manon De Roey, South Africa’s Nicole Garcia and Czechia’s Tereza Melecka tied for fifth place on 8 under par 287.
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