A complete of 49 Indians shall be in motion within the 138-strong discipline when the second version of the DGC Open will get underway on the Delhi Golf Membership course right here on Thursday. Within the absence of final version’s runner-up Ajeetesh Sandhu — he misplaced to Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong within the playoff — the house contingent shall be led by the skilled Gaganjeet Bhullar and a formidable bunch of kids who shall be eager to make an impression on the $750,000 Asian Tour occasion.
Bhullar, who completed fourth on the redesigned course final March, had a good 2022 through which he gained the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational and completed third on the SSP Chawrasia Invitational occasions on the Skilled Golf Tour of India (PGTI). With 10 Asian Tour wins to his title, the 34-year-old is probably the most profitable Indian on the tour.
“I’m feeling good, taking part in good. I’m on a great run. I’m hitting the ball effectively. The purpose is to hit increasingly fairways this week and try to maintain my putts,” he mentioned after taking part in a spherical on Wednesday. Whereas the agency greens, slim fairways and robust breeze examined the gamers final 12 months, Bhullar reckoned the course shall be much more benign this time.
“The course is kind of comfortable, the greens are receptive however the ball tends to spin rather a lot on holes eight and 9. The wind has additionally been fairly manageable to date,” Bhullar mentioned.
Viraj Madappa, who has performed right here usually and gained the Tata Metal PGTI MP Cup in 2021, was cautious of letting the guard down on a course with thick fairway bushes that punishes wayward pictures.
“The fairways are slightly softer than regular. The greens are very grassy and plush. The course has skilled some site visitors over the previous 12 months, so count on it to play slower than earlier than. That doesn’t imply there shall be fewer challenges,” the 25-year-old, thirty fourth finally 12 months’s DGC Open, mentioned.
“I’ve performed right here 8-10 occasions, so I really feel I’m a little bit of a neighborhood boy. The factor about this course is that the fairways can get actually tight. So, even if you happen to pitch just a bit off line, the ball rolls into the bushes. The secret is to maintain the ball in play and be exact with the stroke making.
“On a course like this, you actually needn’t change a lot by way of your sport. You should minimise the motion of the ball, look to hit slightly straighter, and discover the fairways,” Madappa, the one Indian to play within the breakaway Saudi LIV Tour, mentioned.
Among the many different Indians within the fray, Bengaluru’s S Chikkarangappa, contemporary from a top-10 end finally week’s Worldwide Collection Thailand, shall be eager to money in on his type. He’ll tee off with city-mate Khalin Joshi and Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai, twenty fourth on the Asian Tour Order of Benefit. Rashid Khan, SSP Chawrasia, and Shiv Kapur full the battle-hardened lot whereas the younger weapons shall be represented by Yuvraj Sandhu, Veer Ahlawat and Angad Cheema, all of who impressed finally month’s Hero Indian Open DP World Tour occasion in Gurugram.
“We’ve unimaginable bench power. I will not be shocked to see an Indian winner this weekend,” mentioned Bhullar. The entry to the occasion shall be free for all speactors on all days of the competitors.