Women's British Open golf: Diksha Dagar all set for maiden appearance

Diksha Dagar will be the lone Indian in the fray at the 2019 AIG Women's British Open, this year's fifth and final Major, which begins here on Thursday.

The Haryana golfer, who turns 19 in the second week of December, will be playing her second Major, after making a maiden appearance at the Evian Championships last week.

It was a tough Major debut for Diksha who missed the cut with rounds of 77-78.

"I think I played alright, but just did not score. Sometimes that happens in golf, but I enjoyed my maiden Major appearance," said Diksha.

However, she is even more excited about the British Open.

"This is the major all of us love to follow, so to be able to play in that is indeed a honour. Winning the Women's South African Open was a big step forward and it has got me here," said Diksha, who will once again have her father Col Naren Dagar on the bag as the caddie at the Woburn Golf Club.

"It has been raining and the course is soft. But it is a lovely course," said the father-cum-caddie.  

Diksha's 2019 performances have ensured that she is currently ninth in the LET rankings and the Top-25 are exempt into the British Open.

Aditi did not make the field directly this season and therefore she did try the qualifiers earlier in the week but could not make it.

Last year, Aditi achieved her best result in a Major at Women's British Open by finishing Tied-22nd. Two shots better would have seen her finish T-15 and earn a spot in the 2019 Open.

Woburn's own Charley Hull continues her quest for her first Major title at her home course. Hull also played unofficial host when the championship was last played at Woburn in 2016 when she finished T-17.

She will play alongside major champions Hannah Green and Shanshan Feng, who has returned to form in the second half of the season. She picked up her first win in two years at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in July and followed that with a runner-up finish at the Evian Championship. She has been in Top 10 last two years.

So Yeon Ryu, a two-time Major champion, arrives at the final Major of the season in search of her first win of the year, while Ariya Jutanugarn, who won the championship in 2016, also remains in the hunt for her first win of 2019.

Defending champion Georgia Hall looks to keep her success at the AIG Women's British Open rolling. In addition to her victory in 2018, Hall finished T-3 the year before at Kingsbarns. She will play alongside fellow Major champion Brooke Henderson, who is already a two-time winner in 2019.

Jin Young Ko will continue her chase for history as she looks to become the fifth woman to win three Majors in a single season. Ko captured the ANA Inspiration and Evian Championship.

She is making just her third appearance at the AIG Women's British Open where she missed the cut last season but finished second when the championship was played at Turnberry in 2015.