Top-three finishes by Diksha and Avani at Dutch Ladies Open

Avani Prashanth recorded her second successive top five finish on the Ladies European Tour with s share of third place at the Dutch Ladies Open on Sunday. Image courtesy WGAI.

By Rahul Banerji

Diksha Dagar, Avani Prashanth and Pranavi Urs all finished in the top five at the Dutch Ladies Open in Eemnes, The Netherlands, on Sunday. 

Diksha and Avani in fact were just one stroke off the top spot that had to be decided in a playoff between eventual winner Auchisa Utama of Thailand and Norway’s Dorthea Forbrigd who totalled 9 under par 207s.

Diksha and Avani shared third place on 8 under 208 at the Goyer Golf and Country Club, Pranavi tied for fifth at 7 under 209 to cap a memorable week for Indian women’s golfers.

For Diksha, it was the fourth top-10 finish of the season and Avani’s second successive top five result after Evian in France.

Pranavi brought in her first significant result of 2026 to underline the growing level of the Indian challenge on the Ladies European Tour.

Both Diksha 969-70-69) and Avani (69-72-67) had a chance to push themselves into the playoff on a dramatic final day in Emmes.

Hot streak

Avani produced a 5 under 67 featuring six birdies to surge into contention. She was 9 under through 17 holes after Utama had posted the clubhouse target but a bogey on the closing hole denied the 19-year-old a place in the playoff.

Playing in the penultimate group, Diksha also threatened to gate-crash the title race. 

A birdie on 17 took her to 8 under, leaving her needing one more on the par-five last to reach the lead score. However, Diksha could only make par, leaving the two Indians tied for third, one stroke behind the eventual toppers.

Still, Avani took plenty of positives from another excellent week.

“I’m obviously very happy with how the day went, but the last hole, I guess that’s just sport. I played solid out there start to finish. Every part of my game really did well, so I’m happy,” she said.

The Bangalore golfer added returning to full fitness after back problems had transformed her game.

Diksha Dagar continues to enjoy a solid season on the LET that included a top-three placing at the Dutch Ladies Open on Sunday. Image courtesy WGAI.

Strong finish

Pranavi also enjoyed an outstanding finish to the tournament. After opening with a 73, she recovered with rounds of 69 and 67 over the weekend to climb into a share of fifth.

At the top, Utama emerged as the champion after a thrilling finish that included shooting a bogey-free 66 to set the clubhouse total after starting the final day in a tie for 15th place.

Forbrigd finished runner-up after narrowly missing a birdie chance in the playoff, while Pranavi shared fifth place with Wales’ Chloe Williams, American Annika Borrelli, Australia’s Justice Bosio and Kirsten Rudgeley, England’s Hannah Screen, Nigeria’s Georgia Iziemgbe Oboh and Spain’s Harang Lee.

Next up on the LET schedule is this week’s Czech Ladies Open.

Talwar shines at English Open

At Worcestershire, meanwhile, Saptak Talwar produced his best performance outside India this season, narrowly missing out on a top-10 finish to share 12th place in the English Open on the HotelPlanner Tour.

The 27-year-old closed with a 4 under 68 to total 10 under-par for the week, just one stroke shy of a share of seventh place after an impressive final round at The Vale Golf Club.

Starting the final day in a share of 24th at 6 under, Talwar climbed up the leaderboard with his strongest round of the tournament. 

He made five birdies against just one bogey, and a closing birdie would have ensured a top 10 placing after earlier rounds of 69, 71 and 70.

John Catlin of the US claimed his maiden HotelPlanner Tour title after a marathon seven-hole playoff against Norway’s Kristian Krogh Johannessen.

The English Open, which returned to the calendar for the first time in 24 years, has a distinguished list of past winners including Colin Montgomerie, Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam and Darren Clarke.

England’s Barclay Brown and Sweden’s Per Längfors shared third place at 13 under-par, while Germany’s Alexander Knappe and American Jhared Hack, a DP World PGTI Q School graduate, finished tied for fifth on 12 under.

Also read: Avani, Diksha bring in top 10 finishes at Jabra Ladies Open

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