About Tournament

BACKGROUND OF WOMEN'S GOLF IN INDIA
Rise of Hero Women’s Indian Open and Women’s Pro Golf in India
The Hero Women’s Indian Open, now in its seventh year, is the ultimate proof of the rapid strides made by Women’s Professional Golf in India. It attracts the very best of talent from two continents – Europe and Asia and is now one of the most eagerly awaited and penultimate stops on both the Ladies European and Ladies Asian Golf Tours. The timing at the end of the season makes it even more exciting since the race for the Order of Merit on both Tours gets really intense.

The Hero Women’s Indian Open was originally sanctioned by the Ladies Asian Golf Tour (LAGT) in 2007. Recognition by the prestigious Ladies European Tour (LET) followed in 2010, adding further lustre to the event.

The tournament began with a prize purse of US$ 100,000 in 2007, which has now grown to US$ 300,000. This is indeed remarkable when compared with figures for the Men’s Indian Open, which did not exceed a purse of US$ 120,000 for a long time. The prize purse for the Men’s Open reached US$ 300,000 after more than three and a half decades. The committed support of the Title Sponsor M/s. Hero MotoCorp Ltd has seen the purse grow to US$ 1.5 Million.

The field for the Women’s Indian Open has seen the emergence of multiple Major winner Yani Tseng, who won the inaugural DLF Women’s Indian Open. Since then, legendary players like Laura Davies, who won the Hero Women’s Indian Open in 2010, and other emerging and established players have featured at the event. They include the likes of Gwladys Nocera, winner of the first-ever Ladies European Tour sanctioned event in 2008, Phatlum Pornanong, now an LPGA player who has twice won the Indian Open, Money List winners and leaders like Lee-Ann Pace, Caroline Hedwall and Carlota Ciganda.

In the last few years, women’s golf in India has seen phenomenal growth. The Women’s Professional Golf Tour, initially sponsored by DLF and now by M/s Hero MotoCorp Ltd., is an organized domestic tour run by the Women’s Golf Association of India. From 6 events in 2006, the tour has grown to 13 events this year and the number of events is further likely to increase in 2014. The prize money for the domestic tour has also escalated, with major events carrying a purse of upto Rs. 10 lakhs and all events offering a minimum prize of Rs. 5 lakhs.

Even though women’s professional golf in India is still in its infancy, not many countries in Asia barring Japan and South Korea have an established domestic Tour like the one set up by the Women’s Golf Association of India. In the years to come, women’s golf in India is poised for exponential growth as youngsters who have taken to the game recently become technically better equipped to take on their more experienced rivals in other parts of the world.
 

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