By Rahul Banerji
Shubhankar Sharma leads a strong 31-strong home challenge at the 57th Hero Indian Open which tees off at DLF Golf and Country Club on Thursday.
The 27-year-old, who is currently ranked 188th and is a two-time DP World Tour winner comes into his national open on the back of a strong shared seventh place at last week’s Porsche Singapore Classic and says he is happy with his current form.
The former Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year is part of a strong field this week which includes last year’s runner-up Yannik Paul of Germany and four-time DP World Tour winner Rasmus Højgaard, from Denmark.
The field of 144 at the $2.25 million event includes over 40 past winners on the European Tour who between them tally close to 90 titles in all. As Shubhankar pointed out on tournament eve, “The field is strong and it will be a good test this week.”
“This is home for me, like my second home. I spent my teenage years here and I know all the coaches, support staff, everyone who works here. It’s one of the tougher courses we play at, but it’s a challenge we all cherish.”
Not in the 31-member home challenge that includes four amateurs is two-time Indian Open winner Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia who has seen his rankings plummet sharply of late. Still, his absence has raised plenty of eyebrows at a venue where he won his second Hero Indian Open in 2017.
Old ache
Finishing behind countryman Marcel Siem still rankles 2023 runner-up Yannick Paul. The German said on Wednesday, “It hurt a bit last year to not get away with the win.
“When it’s a fellow German you want to win even more. I got along really well with Marcel. I was happy to see him win. But if you’re leading by five shots after two rounds you obviously want to end up with a trophy.
“But I’ll give it a go again, kind of forget about last year and see it as a new challenge. But I’m happy to be back here, I really like the course.
“It’s pretty tricky. You can’t really fake it around here, you just have to hit good shots. There’s not really a lot of bailout in some of the holes. I’m looking forward to it, but I know obviously every year you face different challenges, so I just have to see it as a new week and see where I end up.”
Siem though was unable to return and defend his title this time as he recently underwent surgery on a long-standing hip injury.
The highest-ranked player in the field at 78, Rasmus Højgaard, who could not come to India because of an injury last year, said, “I started out on a good note (in Singapore). But I struggled mid-way through the tournament and finished with a good round.
“Overall, the game is in a good place. I felt like I was swinging it well, I just didn’t score. But I’ve heard that from a few other players as well. I’m looking forward to this event and I think if you can shoot four rounds under par you’ve done very, very well.”
This is the DP World Tour group’s third consecutive week in India co-sanctioned with the Professional Golf Tour of India following back-to-back events on the European Challenge Tour – the Delhi Challenge and the Kolkata Challenge.
John Parry, who topped the first event a fortnight ago, is also in the field this week having taken PGTI membership on the basis of his win at the co-sanctioned event at the Classic Golf and Country Club.
Live coverage of the Indian Open will be available on Eurosport and OTT platform FanCode from 1 pm on Thursday and Friday, from 1.30 pm on Saturday, and from 12 noon on Sunday
Also read: I’m hungry for a win, Lahiri says ahead of Hero Indian Open 2024
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