Heartbreak for India as Hitashee fluffs lines, Shannon Tan scripts sensational win

Gurugram: It had looked like the decade-long drought for the first Indian champion at the Women’s Indian Open would finally be over.

But Hitaashee Bakshi, who looked in red hot form till the end of Round 3, and was hope for the nation to end the long wait of a home-grown champion faltered in the final round.

Hitaashee, sitting pretty with 9-under by the end of Round 3, was tipped to be the favourite going into the final round with Alice Hewson chasing her in second with a score of 6 under.

Looking by the way she was playing, it looked really difficult to catch her if she continued the way she was playing but fate had surprise in store and the surprise was not limited to only one.

Whether there was pressure of continuing to play aggressively like she always does made her commit mistakes or the pressure of being very close to becoming a local champion after nine years or nerves getting wracked by the weight of expectations, one can only guess.

Alice Hewson who had been consistent all through the rounds upped her game and came out blazing in the fourth round and soon found herself to be leading the list with eight under. She was also helped by Hitaashee’s misses which brought her par score from 9 under to 5 under.

Right until the 16th hole when it looked like that the new Champion hailed from England in Alice Hewson, another surprise came up with Shannon Tan from Singapore taking the lead after an extraordinary day at the course.

Shannon Tan (left) with Executive Chairman Pawan Munjal

Shannon Tan who was 2-under at the end of Round 3 surprised everyone with an astonishing performance in the final round to finish 7-under to be crowned champion and showed why she was among the favourites when the tournament began.

The destination of the trophy changed its course during the four days, taking sharp turns and finally landed in the hands of Shannon Tan which reiterates why golf is difficult and at the same time unpredictable that the results can be altered in a matter of time.

This exact nature makes it exciting to watch and play likewise.

After a sublime performance coming just short right at the end, Hitaashee Bakshi was disappointed but looked to take it in her stride.

“Honestly, my mind was only on No. 1 since yesterday. But it's okay, I mean that's golf, right? You can be playing your best golf ever, but not get the result you want and this was one of those days. On the other hand, I'm just told that I have kind of secured my full card on the European Tour for next year and that sounds really nice.

“I've been told that I'm being given a spot on the Taiwan Open. Maybe that's the next one that I play,” she added.

On the other hand, the champion was as surprised and thrilled as the spectators at the course after what we can aptly call as a see-saw battle right till the last which also took every bit of energy in the players under the baking sun accompanied by pressures of the close competition.

When asked about her performance, a dazed Shannon, who was tied-second a year ago at this event, confessed, “I'll be honest, I didn't know what was happening back there and I kind of thought I had to make that putt (on the 18th) to maybe force a playoff. I gave myself a chance. And then I walked in and someone said I'm still in the race and I asked someone what's going on and figured out what happened back there.  I think I'm still pretty much in shock about what happened.

“I didn't really know what was going on in the group behind me until maybe the 15th hole and I was like, I'm really back and knowing DLF -- the closing holes can be quite challenging. So I just told myself to keep sticking to the game-plan and just try to give myself more chances.”

Shannon added, “I was supposed to get here on Sunday and then I had to change my flight to Tuesday morning, ended up getting my visa four hours before that flight, so it wasn't ideal. But I think overall I'm just really happy to have made it here to India and there's nothing I can really do about it. So I just told myself to take the opportunity that nearly wasn't there and I'm glad I did.”

Shannon, who won a professional event two years ago while being an amateur and then quickly rose up the ranks to play the Olympics, added, “I would say to be honest, my ball striking hasn't been that far off compared to the past three days and it's just the putter was really hot today, made more putts than the past two days.

“I think this course quite suits me in terms of being a ball striker and being able to hit it quite straight and accurate and I think it's played a huge part for me this week.”

“I've played here last year and I've really been looking forward to coming back here especially losing by one last year and I was like I know this course suits me, I kind of know I've got an advantage here so I've been looking forward to this event for a long, long time and I think to be able to win this week really means a lot.”

The close race to crowning the champion was a fitting end to the Women’s Indian Open and DLF Golf Resort and Club which lived up to its image of hosting an amazing feast for the eyes and senses.

Tags : Shannon Tan, Hitaashee Bakshi, Indian Open, Golf, Alice Hewson, DLF Golf