Riyadh, Feb 10 (IANS) Five Indian golfers will tee up as the 2026 Ladies European Tour (LET) season gets underway with the Saudi Ladies International at Riyadh Golf Club from February 11 to 14. Leading the Indian challenge is Diksha Dagar, who finished 25th on the 2025 LET Order of Merit.

Diksha will be keen to push for a much higher finish this season, having earlier ended 2023 inside the Top-3. She will be joined by Avani Prashanth, who enjoyed a superb debut season on the LET, Pranavi Urs, who made a strong comeback after an injury setback midway through last year, and Hitaashee Bakshi, who secured her LET card with a fine Top-3 finish at the Hero Indian Open, where three Indians featured in the Top-5.

Also in the field is India’s most experienced campaigner on the international stage, Aditi Ashok, who continues to split her time between the LPGA Tour and the LET, on which she is a five-time winner.

The LET has announced a record prize purse for the 2026 season, with players set to compete for over €40 million for the first time in the Tour’s history. The PIF Saudi Ladies International, the opening event of the 2026 PIF Global Series, will be played as a 72-hole stroke play tournament with a cut after 36 holes and carries a prize purse of USD 5 million.

This marks the first time the Saudi Ladies International is hosting the season-opening event on the LET. A field of 120 players will compete in Riyadh in what is the seventh edition of the tournament, which was added to the LET schedule in 2020 and is being staged at Riyadh Golf Club for the third consecutive year.

The international field represents more than 30 nationalities and includes several stars from both the LET and the LPGA Tour. Reigning LET Order of Merit champion Shannon Tan of Singapore begins her 2026 campaign this week after becoming the first Singaporean to win the prestigious crown last season.

She will be joined by Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit, the 2024 champion, along with a host of European and American Solheim Cup stars. World No. 5 and four-time LET winner Charley Hull is also in the field.

–IANS

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