Emily wins Hero Women’s Indian Open 2015

By Deepak Arora

GURGAON, Oct 25: Denmark's Emily Kristine Pedersen won her maiden European title at the Hero Woemn’s Indian Open 2015 at the DLF Golf and Country Club here on Sunday.

Though 19-year-old Emily has been leader on Day One and Day Two, but she met a stiff challenge from American Cheyenne Woods, Welshwoman Becky Morgan and Dane Malene Jorgensen, who were tied for the second place at one-over 217.

Pawan Munjal, Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of Hero MotoCorp, handed over the glittering Hero Women’s Indian Trophy to Emily and a cheque of USD 60,000.

The $400,000 event was tri-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour, the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and the Women’s Golf Association of India.

Amateur Aditi Ashok carded a total of 225 to be placed tied 13th and finish as the best Indian performer, while Vani Kapoor finished tied 20th with a score of 227 to be adjudged as the best Indian professional at the tournament.

Two other Indians Saaniya Sharma and Smriti Mehra ended tied 60th and 62nd respectively.

On a perfect day for golf, the 19-year-old from Denmark, who turned pro at the start of this year, had a final bogey putt from less than three feet on the final hole.

Her first putt from 10-feet for par went three feet past the cup. Pedersen carded a 73 for the final round finishing at one under 216.

England's Liz Young (72) was fifth at two-over 218, while Italian Giulia Sergas, one of the few to birdie the 18th. She however had three bogeys to her name in a row – carded 73 and ended sixth at four-over 220.

The trio of Cheyenne Woods, Becky Morgan and Malene Jorgensen finished with identical totals of 217, a shot adrift of the winner, to end the tournament in tied second position.

Emily, who began the day atop the leader board, was under constant threat from Cheyenne Woods of the USA but held her nerve to eventually get over the line.

The Dane started the day with a bogey on the 1st hole but recovered with a birdie on the 9th. On her way back, she carded a birdie on the 11th hole before dropping a shot on the 14th to concede her lead momentarily.

She recovered soon with a birdie on the 15th but again dropped a shot on the 17th which saw her surrender the advantage yet again.

It began to look as though the winner would be decided only through a play-off, but a folly by her closest challenger Woods on the last hole made it easier for the Dane and even though she herself carded a bogey on the last hole.

Emily was elated to nail the victory in India. “It feels amazing to win in India. I feel proud of myself. The memories of loss in France were flashing back to my mind, but I am happy that nerves didn’t get on to me and I clinched my first title.”

“On 17th hole, I felt I could win the title, but a bogey there made me nervous. On 18th, I was thinking about my loss in France, thoughts of play-off were also coming to my mind, but in the end I won the title and that matters. I will definitely come back to India next year to defend my title,” said Emily.

Cheyenne Woods never looked to be in contention after an opening-round 77, but a good second round meant she started the final day as a strong contender. And true to everybody’s expectation, she started off with a bang and looked like a player on a mission. She carded birdies on the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 11th holes.

She took the sole lead at one point in time and was looking favourite to win the title, but a bogey and a double on the 14th and 18th respectively foiled her chances. She finished with a score of one under 71 on the final day, but it was not enough and she had to be content with the tied second position.

“I played very good golf throughout the day and sank some beautiful putts, but I think I messed up on the last hole. You can’t win a tournament by dropping a double bogey on the last hole,” said the niece of the US living legend Tiger Woods.

Aditi Ashok who entered the last day with a strong hope of turning things around lost her way and played an indifferent round with three birdies, four bogeys and two double bogeys.

“I think two big mistakes I made were doubles on fourth and 10th, but otherwise my round wasn’t so bad since I made some birdies too. It was a tough course and I learnt a lot from my experience of playing in the Hero women’s Indian Open. I will play at the Sanya Ladies Open in China next month,” said Aditi, who has won three international titles this year.

Focus, Breathing, Practice are Success ‘Mantras’ for Golf: Cheyenne Woods

By Deepak Arora

GURGAON, Oct 23: Focus, Breathing and Practice are the three “mantras” secrets of success for Cheyenne Woods, an American profession golfer and a star attraction at Hero Women’s India Open 2015 being held at the DLF Golf & Country Club.

Giving tips to golf lovers at a Golf Clinic, Cheyenne Woods said it was important to stay focused on the target, plan your shot and control breathing to stay calm.

A Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) star and the niece of 14-time Major winner Tiger Woods, Cheyenne was popular with the game lovers. It could be gauged from the fact that the DLF Golf Academy was full of people to watch her hit shots and hear her valuable tips to improve the game. She later obliged her fans with autographs, photographs and selfies.

Despite the relationship with undisputed King of Golf, a beautiful and charming Cheyenne has establish her own credentials in the world of golf. She is on a maiden visit to India and making the best of it by visiting places of interest. She even got mehndi on her hands.

When asked why she prefers hybrids as compared to irons that Tiger Woods prefers, she said with a big smile “that’s why he is Tiger Woods”.

In response to a question, she said she has been watching Tiger since she was five-year-old. “He is very motivating and pushes me a lot.”

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 25, 1990, Cheyenne advised youngsters, who were present in plenty, to go out and practice with friends and enjoy the game.

“Practice with your friends. Hit shots over trees, around trees, over bunkers etc to bring fun into the game and enjoy. You never know when you may get to hit such a shot during a game.”

Cheyenne, who was cynosure of all eyes, also advised that don’t go after distance. Rather go for consistency. Mark your target and distance in your mind and keep going for it till you achieve consistency. That is the hall mark of success.

She received repeated applause for her demo shots which looked effortless and bang on target.

Present at the event were Chairman, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Hero MotoCorp Ltd Pawan Munjal; DLF Golf Club Vice President Rajiv Hora and General Manager Rama Chawla; Deepak Arora, Ravi Raina and Nitin Kalra of the DLF Golf Champions Club; the COO of Women’s Golf Association of India(WGAI) Vivek Sharma et al.

She practices three to four hours a day when she is not traveling or playing tournaments. Exercising and going to a gym are also very important for the game.

Cheyenne Nicole Woods had tried different kinds of sports, including golf, and dance when she was really young. However, at the age of 13 she realized that it was golf that interested her more. Once she realized that then there was no looking back for her.

At age 16, she played for the Xavier College Preparatory golf team and won back-to-back Arizona 5A State Championships in 2006 and 2007. She graduated from Wake Forest University (2012) where she played golf for the Demon Deacons. She has won more than 30 amateur tournaments.

She is a daughter of Susan Woods and Earl Dennison Woods Jr., who is golfer Tiger Woods' half-brother, making Cheyenne Tiger's niece. Her paternal grandfather Earl Woods (Tiger's father) was her first coach. In an interview she stated that her mother was White and her father African-American with some Asian and Native American.

In 2009, she received a sponsor's exemption to play in an LPGA tournament, the Wegmans LPGA. She missed the cut by four strokes.

In April 2011, she won the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship.
In 2012, Woods turned professional after graduating from Wake Forest. She qualified for the 2012 U.S. Women's Open by finishing as co-medalist at her qualifier and made her professional debut at the 2012 LPGA Championship. She had her first professional win on the SunCoast Ladies Series in late August 2012.

In 2013, Woods became a member of the Ladies European Tour and finished 78th on the Order of Merit. In 2014, Woods had her second professional win (and first on a major tour) at the Volvik RACV Ladies Masters.

In December 2014, Woods finished T-11th in the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, thereby earning Category 12 membership, which entitles her to entry in most full-field events apart from the more prestigious events. Woods is the sixth African-American to play on the LPGA Tour. In an interview Woods said "An African American woman has never won on the LPGA, so in general I just feel that golf needs to be more accessible and more inclusive.”

The Hero Women’s India Open is being played from October 23 to 25 at the DLF Golf and Country Club here and has a prize purse ranging from $3,00,000 to $4,00,000 making the event one of the biggest attractions for womens’ golf in Asia. The flagship event has been tri-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour (LET), the Ladies Asian Golf Tour (LAGT) and Women’s Golf Association of India(WGAI).

Emily Pedersen Leads on Day Two at Hero Women's Indian Open

By Deepak Arora

GURGAON, Oct 24: Rookie Emily Kristine Pedersen of Denmark staved off a strong challenge from compatriot Malene Jorgensen and Becky Morgan of Wales, carding one-over 73 to retain her lead after the second round of the Hero Women’s Indian Open 2015 here today. The $400,000 event is being played at the DLF Golf and Country Club and will culminate tomorrow.

Trailing Emily by one shot is seasoned Becky Morgan who ended with a total score of 144 after 36 holes. Malene Jorgensen is in third position with a total score of 145 after completion of two rounds.

The tournament did not turn out to be a particularly memorable one for the Indian field, as only four of them survived the cut. Amateur Aditi Ashok improved on her first round performance to shoot one-over 73 on the second day and climbed up the leaderboard from tied 19th to tied 11th position.

Vani Kapoor too carded a respectable 1 over 73 in tricky conditions to end the day at 27th on the leaderboard. The other two Indians to make it to the final round were Saaniya Sharma and Smriti Mehra.

Hero MotoCorp sponsored Sharmila Nicollet, Vaishavi Sinha and Neha Tripathi were the prominent faces who missed the cut.

Another highlight of the day was a hole-in-one by Thai golfer Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul on the fifth hole.

Eyeing her maiden title, the 19 year old from Copenhagen avoided taking too many risks and played a controlled round, maintaining her single shot lead. She carded a lone birdie on the 4th hole against two bogies on the 5th and 14th to end with a total of 143.

The rookie from Denmark who is in contention to win the Rookie Player of the Year award on the LET circuit, said, “My approach to the game was the same as yesterday. I hit 12 fairways today but didn’t hole a lot of putts. My driving was much better but putting wasn’t good as on 18th, 13th, 11th, ninth and seventh I missed putts from two to three feet. I made one birdie on the fourth from 15 feet. I don’t know how others will play tomorrow but I have to keep playing good. I want to make more putts in order to win.”

Aditi, who teed off today from the 10thhole, had a shaky start as she dropped consecutive shots on the 13th and 14th.

However, she staged a comeback and carded a birdie on the 15thhole. A bogey on the fourth pegged her back but she ended the round on a positive note with a birdie on the eighth hole.

Aditi said, “I played same as yesterday. Yesterday, the only mistake I made was a double bogey on 18th hole. Today, I dropped two bogeys on back nine -- 13th and 14th. On 13th, I hit a greenside bunker and made up and down. On 14th, I hit in the rough and chipped and putt. I set up a birdie on 15th, then bogeyed par-5 fourth. A par-5 is generally a birdie hole so I could have saved a shot there.”

LPGA star Cheyenne Woods played one of the best rounds of the day, firing three under 69 to jump into tied 4th position after the end of the penultimate round. She carded four birdies on the 9th, 10th, 13th and 16th with a lone blemish on the 3rd to finish with a total of 146 after two rounds.

The professional from USA with the famous surname looked in control today and will push hard for a victory tomorrow. Among other notable players, defending champion Gwladys Nocera and English professional Melissa Reid are placed at tied 38th position with identical totals of 153 after the second round.

Denmark's Emily seizes clubhouse lead on Day 1 at Hero Women's India Open; Aditi best among Indians

By Deepak Arora

GURGAON, Oct 23: Denmark’s rookie Emily Kristine Pederson carded a very respectable 2 under 70 on the ‘Black Knight’ Course at the DLF Golf and Country Club in the evening session to grab the clubhouse lead in the first round of the $400,000 Hero Women’s Indian Open, 2015 here on Friday.

Emily carded a birdie on the last hole to establish a one-stroke lead over Thai Saraporn Chamchoi and Italian Giulia Sergas, who shot one-under 71 each, while Finland’s Minea Blomqvist and German Sophia Popov were tied fourth with an even-par 72.

The last group comprising of India’s Smriti Mehra and amateur Sehar Atwal along with England’s Georgina Simpson couldn’t complete their round due to fading light. They will continue from where they left off on Saturday morning.

Golfers generally struggled to come to terms with the tricky course, with only five of them registering under or even-par scores. Amateur Aditi Ashok finished the best amongst the Indians with a three-over 75 for tied 19th place with defending champion Frenchwoman Gwladys Nocera.

Amandeep Drall’s five-over 77 saw her finish the day at tied 37th position with several others, notable amongst them USA’s Cheyenne Woods, niece of Tiger Woods. English star player Melissa Reid is placed at tied 27th spot with a score of 4 over 76.

Hero MotoCorp-sponsored Sharmila Nicollet and Gursimar Badwal shot six-over 78 in testing conditions to be placed at 47th position.

Sharmila, who is aiming to play the LET Q-School this year, said, “It was a tough day. I made a lot of putts and came back but I think I missed more. The first day in a tournament is basically to test waters and tomorrow I want to be aggressive. I I think I made mistakes with my driving strategy. My putting was decent but I will be more aggressive on my chipping.”

Vani Kapoor and Tanya Wadhwa were far from their best and shot seven-over 79 for tied 59th spot on the opening day.

Emily has had a fantastic track record in amateur golf as she won the 2013 European Amateur Championships and the 2014 British Amateur Championships before turning pro earlier this year. The 19-year-old wants to carry her early success into her professional career as well, where she is aiming for a top-10 finish on the Ladies European Tour this season and the title of the Rookie Player of the Year.

A High School student, Emily who started her campaign today from the 10th hole, carded four birdies against two bogeys and said, “I started off very up and down. My chipping and short game was really good. I started off very up and down did not hit many greens on the front nine. I made birdies on 16th, 18th, sixth and ninth. It is one of the toughest courses I have played, back nine is tougher and you have to play carefully every shot. My putting and short game was good today as it kept me in the game. I am expecting to win the Rookie Player of the Year award.”

Aditi, who has won three prestigious international titles this year, started off on a high note and maintained her place in the top-3 on the front nine after carding a birdie on the eight. She fumbled on the back nine with bogeys on the 10th and 11th contributing to her slide down the leaderboard. She could have finished much higher but for her second shot on the 18th finding the water.

Aditi said, “I was one-under after nine holes and bogeyed 10th and 11th. I three-putted the 10th and hit a poor approach shot on 11th. I made a double on 18th after my second shot sank into water hazard. This course is different and I am playing here for the first time. This is one of the most undulating courses. The greens are tricky and you have to think a lot before taking approach shots.”

“I had a good finish last year, but there is no particular target for this year. My putting wasn’t as good as it should have been and I had 34 putts, it will be the area I want to focus on tomorrow. I have a morning tee off tomorrow, I want to hit more greens.”

Panasonic Open India returns with Prize fund boost

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Oct 23: The Panasonic Open India will offer an increased prize fund of US$400,000 when it returns for a fifth consecutive year on the Asian Tour Schedule from November 5 to 8.

The popular event, which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), will be staged once again at the venerable Delhi Golf Club, site of many dramatic finishes in previous editions of the Panasonic Open India.

The tournament was launched in 2011 with a prize fund of US $ 300,000 and has propelled the careers for many leading players including home hero Anirban Lahiri, who won his first Asian Tour title at the inaugural edition.

Since then, Lahiri, the current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader, has claimed six other Asian Tour titles and also finished tied fifth in the year’s final Major at the PGA Championship to make a return into the world’s top-50 ranking.

Local star Digvijay Singh and Wade Ormsby of Australia secured their maiden Asian Tour titles in 2012 and 2013 respectively while India’s S.S.P. Chawrasia claimed a dramatic win when he defeated countryman Rahil Gangjee and Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka on the first play-off hole last year.

Sarthak Seth, Head - Brand & Marketing Communications, Panasonic India said: “The Panasonic Open India has enjoyed huge success over the last four years and we feel this tournament is growing up year by year. Now prize found increases US$100,000 to bring the total prize fund to US$400,000 on offer to the players in November.

“The tournament has produced worthy champions over the years with the likes of Anirban Lahiri and S.S.P. Chawrasia leading the way and we look forward to returning to the Delhi Golf Club again.

“Through our title sponsorship of the event, we have enjoyed the opportunity to engage with our consumers in India and also across Asia through the global live television broadcasts during the tournament. The Panasonic Open India will also continue to play a role in growing the game of golf in Asia by providing the platform for players to shine.”

Asian Tour CEO Mike Kerr said: “On behalf of our talented players, I would like to extend our fullest appreciation to Panasonic for its continued support of the Panasonic Open India which goes a very long way in promoting and enhancing the sport in India and across the region.

“The Asian Tour also has a very strong partnership with the PGTI, who shares the same goals as us to grow the game by creating playing opportunities for our members. We are delighted to work alongside Panasonic, PGTI and Delhi Golf Club to ensure another successful week of golf at the Panasonic Open India.”

Uttam Singh Mundy, Director, PGTI, said: “Golf in India has enjoyed tremendous growth in recent years and it is thanks to great events such as the Panasonic Open India which has provided a strong platform for our players to excel.

“Anirban Lahiri won his first Asian Tour title at the Panasonic Open India before going on to enjoy huge success on the international stage. It is our hope that more Indian golfers will follow in his footsteps in the future.”

Panasonic makes available in India its wide range of consumer electronics, home appliances like LCD & Plasma TVs, DVD players, Home Theatre Systems, Smartphones, Cameras, Camcorders, Car Audio Systems, Air Conditioners, Washing Machines, Refrigerators, Microwave Ovens, Automatic Cookers, Vacuum Cleaners and a wide range of system products including communication ones like Mobile Phones, High Definition Videoconferencing, Professional Audio Video products like Broadcast Cameras, Projectors and Displays, Business Solutions including Printers, Whiteboards, Security Solutions, and Energy Storage Solutions. The company currently has a workforce of about 13,000 in India.

Top stars to tee-off at the Hero Women’s Indian Open 2015

By Deepak Arora

GURGAON, Oct 21: A state-of-art revamped DLF Golf and Country Club; a significantly increased prize purse and a strong playing field will be the star features of the Hero Women’s Indian Open 2015. The only Ladies European Tour tri-sanctioned tournament in the country will be played from October 23-25, 2015.

While the reigning champion Gwladys Nocera of France is back to defend her title at the new Gary Player-designed DLF Golf and Country Club, a host of other stars, including former champion Thidapa Suwannapura of Thailand, British duo Trish Johnson and Melissa Reid, US star attraction Cheyenne Woods, and India’s top golfers Vani Kapoor, Sharmila Nicollet and Vaishavi Sinha will also be in the fray.

Gwladys, currently occupying the fifth spot on the LET Order of Merit, has been in rich vein of form, and is expected to give an encore after clinching her first Women’s Indian Open title at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) last year. The French professional will, however, face a strong challenge from Melissa Reid (winner of the 2015 Turkish Airlines Open), Thidapa Suwannapura (winner – Hero Women’s Indian Open 2013) and Cheyenne Woods, the niece of American great Tiger Woods, who is on her maiden visit to India.

She said, “I have always wanted to come to India and I am delighted to be here. I am excited about the Hero Women’s Indian Open and will try to do my best over the three days of play. I have a played few holes on the course and it is playing well. It is a bit tricky but that only makes it more interesting.”

Chairman, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Hero MotoCorp Ltd Pawan Munjal said “The Hero Women's Indian Open has come a long way and I have seen this event really grow in stature and popularity over the past few years. The participation of some of the top golfers from around the world is indeed a testimony to that. We have witnessed some fabulous performances in the previous editions and I am sure this year will be no exception. The Hero Women's Indian Open has also been a platform for budding Indian women golfers to showcase their skills and compete with some of the best in the world and I am sure this year's edition will set new benchmarks as well.”

The tournament, which is tri-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour , the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and the Women’s Golf Association of India, will feature 114 players from 31 countries fighting it out for supremacy. Since its inception in 2007, the tournament has seen six different winners in eight editions - Taiwan’s Tseng Ya Ni in 2007, Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum in 2008, 2009, and 2012, Dame Laura Davies in 2010, Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall in 2011, Thailand’s Thidapa Suwannapura in 2013 and Gwladys Nocera last year. The tournament is yet to see an Indian winner and the fans will be hoping for a local talent to win the title and get an exemption to play on the LET.

The Indian challenge will be spearheaded by Vani Kapoor and Hero Motocorp sponsored Sharmila Nicollet. Vani has been in stellar form this season and leads the Hero Order of Merit. Talking to the media, she said, “The Hero Women’s Indian Open is one of the most important tournaments in my calendar and it is a privilege to play alongside the likes of Cheyenne Woods, Melissa Reid and other great players. This being my home course gives me a slight edge but it is one of the trickiest courses I have ever played on so it is going to be a challenging week. However, I have prepared well for the tournament and am expecting some good results by the end of the week.”

Sharmila Nicollet is in good form post her win at the Jaypee Greens last month and will be eager to claim her first victory on the LET. Another Indian golfer to watch out for will be Vaishavi Sinha. Vaishavi finished fifth last year and will be eyeing the coveted trophy this time around.

President of the WGAI Kavita Singh said “It’s wonderful to host the Hero Women’s Indian Open for the ninth edition. The tournament has carved a niche for itself and the presence of elite golfers bears testimony to this. I would like to thank our title sponsors Hero MotoCorp Ltd. for their continued support to women’s golf in India. On behalf of the Women’s Golf Association of India, I would also like to thank the Ladies European Tour and the Ladies Asian Golf Tour for their support to the event.”

After two years, the tournament is set to return to its ‘parent’ club – the DLF Golf and Country Club, where six previous editions were staged before it shifted to the DGC in 2013. For this event, the DLF Golf and Country Club is set to inaugurate India’s first Gary Player 'Black Knight' signature golf course. The length of the par 72 course is set at 6282 yards.

Earlier during the day, ‘Rest of the World’ team beat ‘Asia’ 3-1 in the Skills Challenge of the Hero Women’s Indian Open, 2015. ‘Rest of the World’ comprising of Defending champion Gwladys Nocera, Melissa Reid, Carly Booth and Cheyenne Woods won INR 90,000 as prize money while Vani Kapoor, Sharmila Nicollet, Thidapa Suwannapura and Kongraphan Patcharajutar had to be content with a prize purse of INR 30,000.

The Skills Challenge teed-off with the ‘Longest Drive’ competition. Rest of the World beat Asia in this format after Ladies European Tour star Melissa Reid let loose a drive of 270-yards. Asia’s best reply in this contest came in the form of a 267-yard effort by Kongkraphan. Gwladys Nocera added to Asian’s woes with a brilliant shot which landed just 2 ft 9 inches from the pin in the ‘Pitching Competition’, far better than Vani’s effort of 5 ft 11 inches.

In the ‘Bunker Shot’ contest, Scotland’s Carly Booth ensured a ‘Rest of the World’ victory when her shot landed just 9 foot 5 inches from the pin in comparison to Kongkraphan’s shot, which landed 15 ft 4 inches away. Asia pulled one back, thanks to Sharmila’s exceptional shot in the ‘Putting Competition’ which stopped just 3 inches away from the pin, easily bettering Melissa Reid’s effort of 6 ft and 2 inches.