Kapoor leads Tan and Phatlum into the Women’s Indian Open finale

Vani Kapoor shot 69 in the Hero Women’s Indian Open third round to lead in Gurugram on 211 (−5). Shannon Tan, after 67, and Pornanong Phatlum, after 69, share second on 212 (−4). The winner will be decided on Sunday.

Kapoor’s move was not a sudden leap from nowhere. On Friday she reached a tie for seventh at two under, holing a five-wood for eagle at the 14th. The DLF Golf & Country Club member entered the weekend four strokes behind the then leader, Chiara Tamburlini.

Kapoor birdied three of Saturday’s first seven holes. A birdie at the 17th was followed by a bogey at the last. She told the LET of greater belief in her game.

Tan has already shown how misleading a lead here can be. In the 2025 final round she erased a seven-stroke deficit, shot 67 and won on 281 (−7). Alice Hewson double-bogeyed the last hole and finished one behind.

Before this week’s event, Tan told the LET that familiarity with a course suited to her accurate play gave her confidence. The tour noted six top-ten finishes since May and seventh place in the season standings. Her title defence therefore rests on sustained form as well as last year’s memory.

Phatlum is no accidental presence in the chase: she won this tournament in 2008, 2009 and 2012 and received one of ten invitations this week. The event attracted 114 players and offers a US$500,000 purse. Before this edition, Aditi Ashok, the 2016 champion, remained its only Indian winner.

DLF has two distinct design legacies: its current Gary Player championship course has 18 holes, while a separate nine-hole layout remains from the earlier Arnold Palmer design. The championship routing combines lakes and a quarry section. Kapoor, Tan and Phatlum begin Sunday’s final group at 11:00 local time.

Sources: Ladies European Tour; Hero Women’s Indian Open; DP World Tour.

Pornanong Phatlum — Keith Allison / CC BY-SA 2.0.