GURUGRAM: The Hero Women's Indian Open has a 114-player entry from 31 countries for its 18th edition at DLF Golf and Country Club, according to the Ladies European Tour's October 19 preview. Thirty Indian golfers are entered in the US$500,000 tournament, which begins on October 22 and will be played over 72 holes.
The club hosts the championship for the 16th time and ninth successive edition. Its Gary Player-designed par-72 course combines changes in elevation with water hazards. The event is the 25th stop of the 2026 LET season, with defending champion Shannon Tan returning in pursuit of a fourth tour title. The Singaporean is seventh in the current LET Order of Merit.
Czech golfer Sara Kouskova is the highest-ranked entrant at world No. 94 after finishing runner-up in Korea.
India looks to build on 2025
The championship runs until October 25. India's challenge follows a tournament-best collective showing last year, when four home players finished in the top ten. Hitaashee Bakshi was third, Pranavi Urs fourth, Avani Prashanth tied fifth and Vani Kapoor tied tenth. Those results give the home contingent several recent performances at this venue to build on, rather than leaving its hopes with a single player.
Tan's 2025 win also showed how quickly the contest could change. She began the final round five strokes behind before shooting 67 to finish at seven-under 281. Alice Hewson ended one stroke back, with Bakshi at five-under. Bakshi had led on the final day, making her return particularly significant for the home challenge. Hewson also brings recent form, having finished tied second in September's La Sella Open at eight-under 208.
Aditi Ashok's 2016 victory remains India's only title in the event. Diksha Dagar, a two-time LET winner, finished third here in 2023 but tied 41st last year. The tournament began in 2007; Hero's title sponsorship and the LET's joint sanctioning started in 2010. The prize fund has grown five-fold since the inaugural edition.
A field with strong DLF links
The current official entry list provides a more detailed picture of the local challenge. Bakshi and Kapoor are listed as representing DLF Golf and Country Club, as are Lavanya Jadon, Tvesa Malik and Neha Tripathi. Alongside these club connections, the field includes Dagar, Urs and Prashanth through LET entry categories.
The Women's Golf Association of India (WGAI) section contains 34 entries, including Ridhima Dilawari and Amandeep Drall. It also gives four amateurs a place in the same championship as the touring professionals: Guntas K Sandhu, Ojaswini Saraswat, Ananyaa Sood and Lavanya Gupta.
Ten players appear under LET tournament invitations, including Thailand's Pornanong Phatlum and India's Gaurika Bishnoi. Other entry routes include Order of Merit winners, current-season champions, qualifying-school graduates and the LET Access Series. Tan, Chiara Tamburlini and Trichat Cheenglab appear in the Order of Merit winners category, while Eleanor Givens, Aunchisa Utama, Leonie Harm and Agathe Laisne enter as current-season winners. The list numbers 114 entered players before a separate reserve section; reserves are not part of that total.
Rookie race adds another contest
The week also brings a live contest within the wider tour season. American Anna Morgan arrives as the leader of the LET Rookie of the Year standings after two strong results. Her tied-second finish at the Buccellati Ladies Italian Open at the end of September was her best LET result, followed by tied fifth at the Aramco Korea Championship.
Morgan closed in Korea with a seven-under 65. In its October 16 ranking update, the LET put her on 1,046.93 points, 66.34 ahead of England's Charlotte Heath. Korea's Jenny Shin was third, while Italy's Roberta Liti moved into fourth after a top-ten finish in Korea.
Morgan has acknowledged the rookie award as a welcome possibility, while keeping her weekly game and ambition to win ahead of the rankings. Her recent finishes make that balance an additional storyline as the tour resumes after a one-week break and attention turns to Gurugram.
For background on playing rather than watching tournament golf, Dalimss News has separate guides to Hamoni Golf Camp and Haryana Tourism's Gurugram course listings. Those guides do not establish access to this championship.
