The country’s richest and the flagship golf event – the $2.25 million Hero Indian Open – awaits a homegrown champion since 2017.
This week, 27 professionals and four amateurs will present the home challenge when the 57th edition of the premier event tees off at the DLF Golf and Country Club on Thursday. They will be up against tough overseas challengers, including 40 European Tour winners with close to 90 titles amongst them.
After S. S. P. Chowrasia defended the title in 2017, only three editions were held while thrice in succession the event had to be cancelled owing to the situation forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the record, the top prize is $382,500, the runner-up gets $247,500 and the third-placed will receive $141,750.
World No. 78 Denmark’s Ras Hojgaard, a four-time winner on the Tour, is the highest ranked in the field that includes 20 players from the Top-200 list. Though defending champion Marcel Siem misses the event following a recent hip-surgery, his German compatriot runner-up Yannik Paul is back.
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Ranked 188, Shubhankar Sharma returns to his ‘home’ course as the best placed Indian. The presence of seasoned Anirban Lahiri also gives hope. However, in the past, the ‘projected’ Indian favourites have seldom lived up to the pre-event expectations. In all these years, only Ali Sher, Jyoti Randhawa and Chowrasia have proved delightfully different.
Going by the recent form, Shubhankar, who was recently signed by Roundglass Sports, carries the confidence of finishing tied-seventh in the Porsche Singapore Classic last week.
Describing the DLF course as “one of the toughest that we play all year,” Shubhankar reiterated, “This is home for me, like my second home. I spent my teenage years here and all my evenings were spent practicing on the putting green, playing putting matches with friends.
“And every year I’ve become a better player and a better person. I have a better understanding of the game and something that I’m really proud of - the journey that I’ve taken till now,” said Shubhankar, whose search for a third Tour title continues.
Lahiri, the 2015 winner and looking to add another Tour title since then, returns to his home Open after five years. “I am desperate to win,” declared Lahiri, ranked 401 in the world.
The two-time Olympian is also keen to raise his World ranking in order to make it to the Paris Olympics. He is currently ranked behind Shubhankar (188) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (240). India, at best, can get two entries in the men’s section.
This week, the conditions are set to test the golfers with the Indians really not getting any ‘home advantage’.
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