Diksha Dagar fired an opening round of 65 (-7) to set the pace on the first day of the KPMG Women’s Irish Open at Dromoland Castle. The two-time LET winner was bogey-free on day one of the competition as she began her round on the 10th tee.
Indian American Gurleen Kaur and France’s Emma Grechi sit in a tie for second place on six-under-par at Dromoland Castle.
The other Indians had mixed luck. Ridhima Dilawari shot even par 72 and was T-47 and was the second best Indian after Diksha.
Vani Kapoor and Tvesa Malik, shot 73 each and were T-64. Amandeep Drall shot 3-over 75 and was T-99.
Dagar rolled in back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12 before doing it again on holes 15 and 16 and she made three further birdies on holes two, five and nine to lead on seven-under-par.
“It has been a long season, I was taking one shot at a time and not taking it too seriously today,” said the Indian star, who is fifth in the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol. “I had seven birdies; I had a good day and I’m happy to see myself keeping with the good momentum that I’ve got.
“I am still very good from tee to the green, but at the beginning of the season, I was struggling on the greens. It was a matter of time; I have been practicing a lot, taking one shot at a time and reading the lines and I have improved in my putting.
“I was thinking this golf course is tough, so I just took it one shot at a time because every shot counts. It was a good day and very surprising. I have been having the same mentality and every year my game improves and so does my thinking process. The more you play, the better you get.”
Gurleen Kaur, whose parents were born in India, is in her rookie season on the LET, had only one dropped shot on her scorecard and rolled in seven birdies for her round of 66.
“It was good, I putted really well, and I was able to hit the ball well,” said Kaur. “I actually didn’t play the par-fives that well, so I feel I left a couple out there, but otherwise it was a really good starting day.
“I played well last week, a top-15 finish so I was feeling pretty good and I played better than I thought. The practice round was playing really tough, it was windy and rainy, so it just felt like it was overall a good day.”
Grechi, with her sister on the bag, began her day on the 10th tee and had a bogey on 14th but bounced back with an eagle on the next hole.
The Frenchwoman then produced back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 before adding three more on her back nine for her round of six-under.
South Africa’s Casandra Alexander and Australia’s Kirsten Rudgeley sit one shot further back in a share of fourth place on five-under-par.
Seven players are in a share of sixth place on four-under-par with defending champion Klara Davidson Spilkova alongside Austria’s Christine Wolf, English duo Gabriella Cowley and Eleanor Givens, Spain’s Emma Cabrera Bello, France’s Anne-Lise Caudal and Germany’s Sophie Witt.
There will be a cut to the top-60 professionals and ties after 36 holes.
