India's Vani Kapoor finished the 2026 Hero Women's Indian Open alone in second place on Sunday, October 25, achieving the best Ladies European Tour (LET) result of her career. Playing at her home venue, DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurugram, the 32-year-old posted rounds of 73, 69, 69 and 70 for a total of 281 strokes, seven under par. Thailand's Pornanong Phatlum won with 277 (11 under) after an outstanding closing 65.
Kapoor had entered the final day as the player everyone was chasing. Consecutive 69s on Friday and Saturday moved her to five under after 54 holes and gave her a one-shot lead over Phatlum and Singapore's defending champion, Shannon Tan. The advantage was particularly meaningful because Kapoor is a member of the host club and has appeared at the national women's open many times. She was pursuing a maiden LET victory in front of family, friends and home supporters.
Her opening holes on Sunday made that ambition seem entirely realistic. According to the Press Trust of India match report, Kapoor birdied four of the first five holes. Yet the Gary Player-designed championship course rarely allows competitors an easy finish. A short birdie putt missed at the ninth, followed by dropped shots on the back nine, interrupted her momentum. Phatlum produced a bogey-free final round and ultimately pulled clear.
It would be misleading, however, to define Kapoor's week solely by a title that slipped away. Two rounds of 69, the lead entering Sunday and a career-best LET finish all marked substantial progress. Unlike a routine top-ten result, this runner-up position came with the pressure of playing in the last group on home soil, with the national crowd hoping for a rare Indian victory.
The wider Indian performance was encouraging as well. Shannon Tan finished third on 284 (four under), while India's Pranavi Urs shared fourth and Tvesa Malik placed seventh. The latter two joined Kapoor in the top ten of the $500,000 event. Aditi Ashok, who triumphed in 2016, remains the only Indian winner of the tournament.
Kapoor's week therefore carries two different messages. The first is that she came close to the title and was beaten by an exceptional 65 from an experienced opponent. The second, potentially more durable, is that she showed she can contend over 72 holes in an international LET field. How she builds on that performance will be determined in her next starts rather than by a single Sunday result.
Reporting sources: PTI / Rediff (October 25 final-round report) and the Ladies European Tour (official October 24 third-round report). Illustrative image: Janbaby, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. The archived photograph does not show Kapoor or the Indian Open venue.
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