Golf: Diksha leads Indian challenge at London Championship

London, Aug 5 (IANS) Diksha Dagar will spearhead the Indian challenge at the USD 2 million London Championship as the Ladies European Tour enters the final week of its United Kingdom swing at Centurion Club in Hertfordshire.

Joining Diksha in the 120-player field are fellow Indians Aditi Ashok, Pranavi Urs and rookie Avani Prashanth, with all four looking to build momentum heading into the closing stretch of the LET season.

Diksha, a two-time LET winner has been one of the Tour’s most consistent performers in 2026. Despite missing the cut at last week’s AIG Women’s Open, she remains the highest-ranked Indian on the LET Race to Costa del Sol standings in eighth place, underlining a season highlighted by multiple top-10 finishes. She is now chasing her third LET title while also aiming to better her career-best finish on the Order of Merit after ending inside the top three in 2023.

Aditi Ashok, a five-time LET champion, returns to familiar surroundings as she balances her schedule between the LPGA Tour and the LET. Although she has yet to hit top form this season, the Indian star will be hoping to rediscover the consistency that has made her one of the Tour’s most successful players.

Pranavi Urs has enjoyed an encouraging campaign and sits inside the top 50 on the Order of Merit, while rookie Avani Prashanth has impressed in her debut LET season and is also comfortably placed inside the top 50. Three of the four Indians are currently inside the top 60 on the Race to Costa del Sol standings.

The London Championship returns to Centurion Club for the sixth successive year, with a strong international field competing over 72 holes for a purse of $2 million. The cut will fall after 36 holes to the top 60 professionals and ties.

Germany’s Laura Fünfstück, who captured her maiden LET title here last year with a birdie on the final hole, will not defend her crown as she is on maternity leave.

The field is headed by English star Charley Hull, currently world No. 6 and winner of the 2026 PIF Saudi Ladies International. She is joined by LET Order of Merit leader Casandra Alexander of South Africa and reigning 2025 Order of Merit champion Shannon Tan of Singapore, who arrives on the back of a career-best tied-sixth finish at last week’s AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes.

Tan, who won the 2025 Women’s Indian Open, said her performance at the season’s final major had boosted her confidence ahead of a busy European schedule.

–IANS

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