Women's Golf Association of India

Aditi and Diksha fight hard on a tough opening day at AIG Women’s Open

St. Andrews, Scotland, Aug 23:Diksha Dagar and Aditi Ashok birdied their finishing holes, the ninth at the Old Course, to keep alive their chances of making the cut at the 2024 AIG Women’s Open.

As play ended late on account of slow play in tough weather, Aditi Ashok finished at 4-over 76 and Diksha Dagar was 5-over 77 as the cut looked likely at 3-over or 4-over after the second round. Aditi was T-79 and Diksha was T-100 but they can make up since they play the second round early and can make up.

For a long time, Diksha’s score on the board showed a birdie on Par-5 14th, which was later corrected and it was shown as 5-over.

Aditi opened with two pars and then had a bogey on 12th and a double on 13th for 3-over first nine. She dropped further shots on first and second to go 5-over before the birdie on ninth made it 4-over for the day.

Diksha, T-21 last year at Walton Heath, was 5-over for her first nine holes, the back nine of the Old Course with bogeys on 10, 11, 13, 16 and 17. On the second nine she dropped a shot on third and picked a birdie on the ninth, her final hole.

Charley Hull fired a round of 67 (-5) to sit in the outright lead after the first round. The English star went out to tackle the Old Course in the afternoon wave alongside world number one Nelly Korda and defending champion Lilia Vu.

Hull rolled in her first birdie of the day on the fifth but made a bogey on the par-3 eighth, however she was soon under par again with a birdie on the ninth.

The three-time LET winner then had a great back nine as she made birdies on 10, 12, 15 and 18 to hold a solo lead on five-under-par in the final major of the year.

China’s Ruoning Yin and American Korda sit one shot behind the leader after they produced rounds of 68 (-4) on the opening day at the Old Course.

The Chinese star began her round from the 10th in the clear but windy conditions and started well with birdies on 12 and 13 before dropping a shot on 16.

Yin then went on a run of birdies with back-to-back on 17 and 18 before rolling in three in a row on holes three, four and five.

It was a trickier end to the round for the Major champion with bogeys on six and eight, but still a great start of four-under on the Old Course at St Andrews.

Korda, who was playing alongside leader Hull, also had a good day with two birdies and one bogey on her front nine.

The world number one then rolled in three birdies in her final five holes to climb up to a share of second place alongside Yin.

Six players are in a share of fourth place with Korean duo Jenny Shin and Mi Hyang Lee, American pair Andrea Lee and Lilia Vu, Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit and Japan’s Mao Saigo all on three-under.