Germany’s Cowan finally comes good at Hero Women’s Indian Open 2022

Success is not a habit and defeat not always a lesson. German golfer Olivia Cowan, winner of this year’s Hero Women’s Indian Open has learnt that the hard way.

Sitting on a two-stroke lead on the 72nd and final hole of the tournament, the Hamburg-born Cowan had a flashback to an event on the Aramco Series two years ago in Jeddah. That day too, she was two shots ahead of the next competitor and double-bogeyed the hole to hand the title to Sweden’s Pia Babnik with a double bogey finish.

At the post-event media interaction at the DLF Golf and Country Club on Sunday, October 23, the 26-year-old admitted the Saudi fiasco was very much on her mind. “Golf is sometimes a mean game,” she recalled cradling the glittering Indian Open silverware.

“Two years ago, I was in exactly the same position and made some wrong choices. This time, I was determined not to repeat the mistakes I made at Jeddah.”

Cowan, who recorded her maiden win on the Ladies European Tour, which co-sanctions the Hero Women’s Indian Open in her 96th start, walked away with a winner’s cheque of $60,000 from the $400,000 prize purse offered by the event.

The composed German turned emotional at the prize presentation after winning her first LET title despite being on the Tour since 2015. She said, “I have come close a lot – a lot – so I am so happy to get over the line this time. I’ve taken some defeats so yeah, it’s nice to finally get over the line.”

“Obviously towards the end I knew I had a good chance. Coming down 18 was a bit nerve-wracking, but I did okay.”

“I’ve done well in my career, but this tops everything,” Cowan, who has recorded 27 top-10 finishes since making her Ladies European Tour debut in 2015, added.

“I was quite relaxed the whole weekend to be honest. I wasn't really thinking of winning this time. I just wanted to go out there and have a good mindset and just play good golf. I was playing good golf so I just decided to trust that and come out today and just see what happens really.”

The National Open 2022 was also a lucrative open for domestic talent with the highest number of Indians ever – 15 in all, 13 professionals and three amateurs – making the 36-hole cut and going through to the final two money-earning rounds.

Patiala-born Amandeep Drall finished in a tie for second place alongside 2011 champion Caroline Hedwall of Sweden. Drall’s result was the best by an Indian since Aditi Ashok, now a regular presence on the prestigious Ladies PGA Tour in the United States, won the event back in 2016 and earned her $30,000. More importantly, it would have sealed a full card for the 2023 European season for the 30-year-old.

Behind her, Tokyo Olympic fourth-place finisher, Aditi Ashok was fourth, while Gaurika Bishnoi was tied sixth and Vani Kapoor capped her tenth straight cut in the tournament with a tied eighth place. Bishnoi’s tied sixth place was her best result at the Hero Women’s Indian Open, and both she and Kapoor are DLF Academy trainees.

The joint best card on the final day came from top Indian amateur and national champion Avani Prashanth, whose 5-under 67 saw her finish in a tie for 12th place overall. Two other young Indians, Nishtha Madan, who plays on the Epson Tour in the US, and Hitaashee Bakshi, who a week ago had a top-six placing at the LET Pre-Qualifiers to get into the Final stage of Qualifying School, were tied 20th.

Drall said later, “I am pleased with the performance, even though I did not win. I felt if a couple of mid-range putts had fallen, I would have got the momentum. But overall, I am happy the way I held out and this should improve my ranking and get me more events.”

“Level par on this DLF course is always a very good score especially when I was playing in the leader group for the very first time.”

Bangalore teenager Prashanth, who is headed to Thailand for the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific (WAAP) in a fortnight’s time was pleased with her display that saw successive sub-par cards in her closing 36 holes.

“I was waiting to play rounds like the one I did today and yesterday. The greens were really fast but I still managed to get good putts in. I think my stroking improved over the last few days.”