The Challenge Tour makes a stop in India for the second consecutive year. It is a mini tour of two consecutive tournaments co-sanctioned with the Professional Golf Circuit of India and will culminate with the Hero Indian Open of the DP World Tour at the end of this March. After the ‘break’ of two weeks following the end of the South African tour, the tour lands in the second most populated country in the world for the celebration of the Delhi Challenge.
The last two tournaments of the tour in Mandela’s country were heavily marked by wind and rain conditions. So much so, that the last tournament, the NMB Championship, was reduced to 54 holes. It seems that finally this week a tournament can be held in perfect atmospheric conditions. Good weather awaits them at the Classic Golf & Country Club, which by the way was designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus. It is the first year that the circuit lands in the town of Hayrana and it seems that the course is favourable and in which very low rounds are expected this week. It is not a long course, it is true that the greens of the course are small and complicated, but playing with short clubs should not be too difficult either. Of course, all this is said from the perspective of the gamers who are presenting this week at the tournament. Some of those who have been able to test the course assure that the champion will have to do “minimum, minimum, twenty under par”.
Legend has it that the Indian country gave origin to the game of chess back in the 6th century during the Gupta Empire. It will be the Spaniards who will seek this week to checkmate in the Delhi Challenge and add the first victory of the season on the circuit.
Seven members of the Armada will be part of the game this week: Victor Pastor, Joel Moscatel, Quim Vidal, Lucas Vacarisas, Alejandro Cañizares, Borja Virto and Javi Sainz, ordered respectively according to their current position in the circuit ranking.
The best placed Spaniard at the moment in the race towards the DP World Tour is Victor Pastor. Right now he would be one of the twenty lucky ones who would move up to the top continental division. It has not been weeks of rest for Victor, the Cordovan arrives after playing the PGA of Spain that was held in his hometown and that finally had to be cancelled due to weather conditions. The Andalusian arrives with the firm intention of proving that what happened in South Africa was not a fluke.
Joel Moscatel seeks in India to confirm the good feelings obtained, especially, at the start of the DP World Tour season in Australia. In his particular African tour he played three Challenge tournaments (overcoming two cuts) and the Magical Kenya Open, which being played in the same week as the NMB Championship awarded points for the Road to Mallorca. It was precisely there where he obtained his best result of the tour with a magnificent top 20 that put him at the gates of the Road to Mallorca, position 51 right now. The Catalan is being a very regular player and seeks to soon hit the jackpot that places him in the leading positions of the circuit. Little is missing. In a similar situation is Quim Vidal, his game is knocking on the door of something big.
One who seeks to improve sensations after a difficult start is Borja Virto. The Navarrese could not overcome the cut in any of the three tournaments he played in South Africa and seeks in India to start adding points in the race to reach the grand final in Mallorca. Virto has taken advantage of these two weeks to focus a lot on the swing technique and to maintain the good feelings he is having with the putter. Specific work to try to turn the situation around. One week can change everything. Javi Sainz and Alejandro Cañizares are two others who also know what it is to win on the circuit and who need to start adding points as soon as possible
Lucas Vacarisas arrives in India after his astonishing wrist recovery. The Catalan acknowledges that he is not being able to force the machinery to 100%, but that he is in a position to compete with all the law. We will see if the magneto recovery does its job and the Barcelona player enjoys two good weeks in India.
The other Spanish player currently qualified for the Mallorca final is Angel Ayora. The Andalusian will not participate in the Indian tour after having played last week in Puerto Rico in what has been his debut on the PGA Tour. From Abu Dhabi he will try to recover the positions he loses in these two tournaments. He has plenty of time.
