Ladies European Tour rookies Hitaashee Bakshi, Sneha Singh face stiff Tenerife test

Domestic women’s professional tour achievers Hitaashee Bakshi and Sneha Singh will join Ladies European Tour regulars Diksha Dagar, Tvesa Malik and rookie Avani Prashanth at the Tenerife Women’s Open in the Canary Islands this week.

The LET returns to Tenerife for the first time since 2011 and will see a field of 132 players from 35 countries in action with much of the focus on rankings leader Mimi Rhodes of England, and last year’s Order of Merit winner, Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini.

Tour rookie Rhodes is already a three-time winner this season with titles at the Ford NSW Women’s Open, Joburg Ladies Open and the Dutch Ladies Open, and her rivalry with Tamburlini extends back to their collegiate days in America.

Said Rhodes, “Chiara’s year last year was a really strong one. I did want to replicate that because she has always been one of my rivals throughout college as well. I think it has pushed me to keep going with the momentum, instead of just thinking, I’ve got my win and that’s it. Her success has pushed me to believe that I can do it. I want to try and make history this year.”

After nine events in 2025, Diksha is the top Indian in eighth place on the LET Order of Merit, which decides the yearlong race to crown the Tour’s number one player. Diksha has played nine events, made seven cuts and finished in the top 10 at four events, including a runner-up finish in Morocco.

Avani Prashanth at 39th is the second-best Indian on the LET Merit list but the focus at the Abama Golf Resort is equally on the last two Hero Order of Merit winners in India. LET Rookie Hitaashee Bakshi in two starts has done well to finish in shared 12th place at the Dutch Ladies Open and tied 34th at the Jabra Ladies, while Sneha Singh will make her first star on the tour.

Tvesa Malik, in six starts, has made two cuts, with a tied 34th at the Jabra Ladies as her best performance this year.

The top four of the current 2025 Order of Merit are in the field. They are Rhodes, fellow Englishwoman Cara Gainer, the Czech Republic’s Sara Kouskova, who secured her maiden LET victory at the Evian Resort. and Tamburlini.

The tournament previously took place between 2002 and 2011, and the Alabama course promises to provide a challenging test for the players this week with its undulating terrain and sloping greens.