Golfer Diksha Dagar finishes third at Hero Women's Indian Open

Diksha Dagar finished sole third at the Hero Women's Indian Open after playing some brilliant golf on Sunday.

Diksha gave it her all with five birdies against two bogeys on the front nine, but on the back nine, the birdie putts deserted her and she ultimately finished with a card of 70 at 8-under 280 for the tournament to finish third.

German rookie Aline, who shot a brilliant 68 on the final day and carded 15-under for the tournament, overcame a strong challenge from another rookie Sara (71) to make it a memorable outing at the DLF Golf and Country Club.

Diksha fumbled on the back-nine as she had just one birdie and dropped shots on the 10th and 14th or else she could have moved to the top of the Order of Merit with a win or solo second here.

However, Diksha's efforts on Sunday ensured that she will move to second place, up from her fourth place, on the LET's Race to Costa Del Sol.

She is now just about 78 points behind the Order of Merit leader, Celine Boutier of France, who did not play this week. No Indian has ever won the Order of Merit on LET and Diksha has three more competitions left to achieve the distinction.

India's amateur golfer Avani Prashanth (69) finished tied-5th with Sara Kouskova (65) of the Czech Republic, while Gaurika Bishnoi (71) ended tied-8th with Finland's Noora Komulainen (69).

A total of 10 Indians had made the cut and all of them finished tied-36 or better with three of them in the top-10.

Diksha said she was satisfied with the third-place finish.

"It was a wonderful experience. I am happy with the way I finished. I would like to stay in the present and I am going to continue my game and I am going to look out and work on my weaknesses. I am also looking to improve my diet and work on my skills," said the Indian, who could not make it to the Hangzhou Asian Games contingent.