Coffs Harbour (Australia), March 12 (IANS) Top Indian golfers Pranavi Urs and Diksha Dagar, along with Avani Prashanth, will be hoping to see some action at the Australian Women’s Classic, which has also been hit by poor weather. After the cancellation of last week’s event in Brisbane, this week’s event has been reduced to 54 holes and will begin on Friday. The three Indians were also due to play in Brisbane last week, but the event was called off due to a cyclone.
The Indian challenge is Pranavi, a former winner of the WPGT Order of Merit; Diksha Dagar, winner of two Ladies European Tour (LET) titles; and rookie Avani Prashanth. They will have to stay content with practising at the range and will not be able to play a practice round.
Having already arrived in Australia, Pranavi and Avani stayed with a relative of Pranavi, while waiting for this week’s event at the Coffs Harbour Golf Club. The LET has confirmed the Australian Women’s Classic has been reduced to 54 holes. This decision comes following heavy rainfall and flooding in the Coffs coast region during and in the immediate aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The 2025 Australian Women’s Classic will begin on Friday morning, with the first tee time being approximately 7:30 am local time. The stars of the Ladies European Tour (LET), including the three Indians, are refusing to let the rain dampen their spirits as they return to Coffs Harbour this week for the Australian Women’s Classic.
It has been a tumultuous start to the circuit’s Aussie swing after Cyclone Alfred devastated the Queensland coast causing last week’s Australian WPGA Championship to be cancelled.
No fewer than 132 players will tee up on Friday, a field comprised of 80 LET players, 30 WPGA Tour players, and 22 invites. LPGA winner Grace Kim headlines the €300,000 event as the highest-ranked player in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings (83rd).
The home favourite is joined by LET winners Cara Gainer, Manon De Roey, Trichat Cheenglab, Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, Diksha Dagar, and Alice Hewson. Australia’s Kirsten Rudgeley is also teeing up in New South Wales, looking for her maiden victory on the LET.
–IANS
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