An in-form Scott Hend of Australia, who won in Thailand last week, Filipino rising star Miguel Tabuena, India’s S.S.P. Chawrasia, a four-time runner-up at the Indian Open and Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh, the 2013 Hero Indian Open winner, feature in the US$1.66 million Hero Indian Open which gets underway on Thursday.
Despite finishing second on four occasions at the Indian Open, Chawrasia, a three-time Asian Tour winner, remains confident of his chances to win his National Open.
“Honestly, I don’t remember the bad things. I try to remember only the good things and take away the positives from my past experiences over here. So when I start playing tomorrow, I will remember those good things.
“This is a short course, and I am not a very long hitter. So, on this course if you chip and putt well and land the ball straight then you get good results. I try to play safe over here,” said Chawrasia, who was part of Team Asia in the EurAsia Cup earlier this year.
Talented Filipino Tabuena, ranked second on the Order of Merit, aims to follow in the footsteps of Lahiri, who won the Hero Indian Open last year before becoming the Asian Tour’s number one golfer.
“It is not a stressful week knowing you have secured your card for next year. The main goal this year is to play in the Olympics and contend for the number one spot on the Asian Tour. I’ve put myself in a good position to do that,” said the 20-year-old Tabuena.
With two top-five results and one top-10 finish in his last three events, Uihlein, a former amateur world number one, hopes to continue his fine form in his debut appearance at the Hero Indian Open.
“It is always good when you have three top-10s. The confidence is there and I hope to continue riding the momentum hopefully I have another good week,” said Uihlein, a one-time European Tour winner.
“Mentally I feel better. I don’t let emotions dictate the decisions I don’t want to make. That cures a lot of problems and I’ve been holing a lot of 15 and 20 footers so these two aspects have really helped me,” he added.
