With the bigger prize money European Tour tournament hogging newspaper columns, India’s original apex golf event has gone and got its own headturner. So, for the first time after hitting that purple patch and the brush with the likes of Tiger Woods, Jeev Milkha Singh will take the greens back home at the 44th edition of the Asian Tour Hero Honda Indian Open here. Also back at the Delhi Golf Club from October 11 to 14 to defend his crown will be Jeev’s fellow European Tour regular Jyoti Randhawa. With the prize money going a notch up from $ 400,000 to $ 500,000, there are more big names expected to add the competitive edge, and heading the field along with the two Indians will be the current Asian Tour order of merit leader Liang Wen-chong from China. Among other past winners to have confirmed entries, apart from home favourite Gaurav Ghei, will be Thaworn Wiratchant. The Thai, the 2005 champion here and a recent winner on the tour at the Midea China Classic, will look to overwrite his rather gloomy memories from the last edition, when he finished 16th. Singapore’s Mardan Mamat will be back after his 2004 win. Jeev has not been in the same form he exhibited last season to finish at the top of the leaderboard four times, and he would look to set the record right at home at a tournament he is yet to win, having skipped the last four editions. Giving the tough field an even tougher time will be the increased course difficulty at the DGC. According to captain Ranji Chaudhary, the course has been lengthened 126 yards, with three tees having been moved. The fairways are also being moved so that they slope naturally towards the bush cover. Despite regular references being thrown up about the new European Tour stopover, Indian Golf Union president General JJ Singh denied that the Indian Open was in danger of getting overshadowed, “We have two world-class events now, which says a lot for India’s marketability as a golf destination.”
