Hero Women's Indian Open: Legendary Lee-Anne Pace, top pros slam organisers for ‘unfair' playing conditions

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Gurugram, Oct 26: The playing conditions at the DLF Golf & Country Club, the host venue for the ongoing Hero Women's Indian Open came in for heavy criticism from South African golf legend Lee-Anne Pace and other top professionals on Saturday (October 26).

Lee-Anne had registered for the tournament, however, she was stung by a virus and could not compete in the Ladies European Tour (LET) event. The cut for the $400,000 event was applied at 10-over par, an unprecedented score in the history of the tournament. Also Read: Hero Women's Indian Open: Olympian Sara Kouskova caddy's Indian hockey connection | Exclusive

"I have to be completely honest, I think it's a little unfair towards the golfers because I walked nine holes the first two days and it just seemed like the pin positions compared to the firmness of the greens and the speed of the greens was not, just wasn't really fair towards them, you know. So if you're on the wrong side you have absolutely no chance," Lee-Anne Pace, who has 11 LET titles under her belt including two Order of Merit triumphs, told MyKhel.

Only seven players could register under-par scores in the opening round and nine pros in the second round out of the 114-women field. The firmness of the greens came in for scrutiny as it showed stimpmeter speed of 12, which most top pros claimed is not even the standard in European conditions.

One of the senior professionals on the LET admitted that they are not used to playing on fast greens like these back in Europe but the larger question was the firmness. This meant the greens were not watered properly to keep them softer.

"We are used to playing at the greens speed of 10, here it was 12. But the bigger problem was the firmness of the greens, it was bouncing the ball from every angle. The cut line was at 10-over which is disappointing," the women's pro, who does not want to be named, told MyKhel.

Multiple professionals mentioned that the tournament was a poor exhibition of their skills and experience. Naturally, a handful of fans turned out on the tournament's first three days.

In the 2023 edition when Aline Krauter of Germany won the event at 15-under par, 16 players had submitted under-par scores in the opening round and 20 sub-par scores in the second with the cut declared at six-over-par. In 2022 when another German Olivia Cowan clinched her first LET win, 22 golfers had registered under-par scores in Round 1 and 11 pros in Round 2 with the cut announced at eight-over-par.

A quick look at the 2024 and 2023 editions of the Hero Indian Open for male professionals is enough to reveal the huge disparity among the scores. A total of 62 men produced under-par scores in the opening round and 52 in Round 2 with the cut announced at one-under par with Keita Nakajima of Japan winning the title at 17-under-par earlier in March this year.

In 2023, there were 24 under-par scores registered in the opening round and 33 pros in the second round with the cut declared at four-over par. Germany's Marcel Siem had lifted the Indian Open trophy with a four-day total of 14-under par.

Explaining the disparity in the scores, Lee-Anne said that the tournament organisers needed to be more considerate towards women. "For women, it was insane compared to the men, it was much more accessible. And then secondly the men hit more spin on the ball, so if it's firm greens they can still stop it immediately where swing speed is a lot less.

"We don't have the same amount of spin so we are definitely going to get that kick forward. And on this course, if you're anything long, you're dead. So, you have to constantly be short of the pin," the 43-year-old seasoned pro said.

But as compared to South Africa? "This week it's unfair, I guess. It's much more difficult, I can tell you that. If I practice here and I play in South Africa, it will feel so much easier," Lee-Anne added.

Col. Narinder Dagar, father of Olympian Diksha Dagar, said that the conditions were tuned more towards the LPGA level and not the LET level after his daughter made the cut at six-over-par.

"Diskha made a good recovery today but we are not happy with the course. This course is ideal for LPGA but not for the European Tour where girls don't hit that long or impart a great deal of spin. The good shots are being penalised here, which is not good," Col. Dagar had said.

But LET Tournament Director Joao Pinto defended the playing conditions saying DLF Golf & Country Club has always been a 'tough course.'

"From the Pro-AM to practice rounds till the third round, the green speed has been in the range of 12-12.2. The pros need to learn how to handle a tough course like this. I can admit the firmness is a little bit different than last year but we are watering the greens for six minutes in the morning and evening. The greens have always been fast here, that's the nature of this course, the way it has been designed. It has always been a tough course," Joao Pinto informed MyKhel.