Tour news

Pranavi Urs Leads Star-Studded Field At 2026 Hero Womens Indian Open

Published 27 October 2026

Golf stars gather in Gurgaon for the 18th staging of the Hero Womens Indian Open, featuring historic Asian Games gold medalist Pranavi Urs and defending champion Shannon Tan.

Pranavi Urs holding her Asian Games medals (Supplied publicity photo; capture date not supplied.) Image: LET / Neville Hopwood. Used under recorded media permission.

The 2026 Hero Womens Indian Open commences on October 22 at the challenging DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon, near Delhi. Marking its 18th staging, the tournament brings together a competitive 114-player field competing for a US$500,000 purse across 72 holes of stroke play, with a cut applied to the top 60 professionals and ties following 36 holes. The course is set up as a par 72 measuring 6,189 yards or 5,659 metres, though subject to minor changes.

All eyes are on 23-year-old local star Pranavi Urs, who receives a hero welcome following her historic individual golf gold medal win at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan. Overcoming major champion Ruoning Yin and Ladies European Tour Order of Merit winner Shannon Tan, Urs became the first Indian to win an individual medal in the competition, a feat that earned public congratulations from President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Urs also secured a team silver medal alongside Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar. As one of 30 home players in the field, Urs aims to become only the second Indian to capture this national title, following Aditi Ashok in 2016.

Defending champion Shannon Tan returns as the player to beat. The Singaporean claimed a one-shot victory last year for her third Ladies European Tour title and enters the week as the highest-ranked competitor in the Rolex Womens World Golf Rankings at 59th. Holding impressive statistics with 83.95 percent driving accuracy and 80.60 percent in greens-in-regulation, Tan begins her title defence alongside Urs and 2017 champion Camille Chevalier in the opening rounds.

Also arriving in strong form is Czech player Sara Kouskova, who recently carded a course-record 63 at her last outing and moved into the world top 100 at number 94 following a runner-up finish in Korea. Kouskova joins other notable past champions and order of merit winners in navigating the demanding fairways and undulating greens of the DLF venue as the championship unfolds through October 25.