European Ryder Cup star Rafa Cabrera Bello arrived in Delhi this morning after a 14,000 kilometre trip from Mexico, as he aims to upset the recent trend of local dominance at the Hero Indian Open.
The Spaniard travelled to DLF Golf and Country club directly after the WGC-Mexico Championship in search of his third European Tour title and his first since 2012.
After a memorable year in 2016, which included debut appearances at The Ryder Cup, the Masters Tournament and the Olympic Games, Cabrera Bello started the new season with a second place finish at the UBS Hong Kong Open, and is confident that more is to come.
Fellow Olympian and three-time European Tour winner SSP Chawrasia also had a stellar 2016 including a sought-after victory at the Hero Indian Open, which came after four second place finishes at his home tournament.
Chawrasia has had a fascinating battle with countryman Anirban Lahiri at this event in recent years. When Chawrasia won last year Lahiri was tied second, while Chawrasia was runner-up when Lahiri triumphed in a play-off to lift the trophy in 2015. Both players also finished tied second when Siddikur Rahman claimed victory in 2013.
While Chawrasia returns to defend his title – aiming to become only the second golfer after compatriot Jyoti Randhawa to successfully defend the Hero Indian Open – he will do so in a different location, as the tournament moves from it’s traditional home at the Delhi Golf Club to the Gary Player Course at DLF G&CC.
This week’s field also includes in-form Australians Scott Hend, the reigning Asian Tour number one, and Brett Rumford, who claimed his sixth European Tour title with a superb win at the inaugural ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth in February.
Rafa Cabrera Bello: “My game, you know it hasn’t been as good a start as last year but it’s getting there. The game is good, I just maybe haven’t had that bit of momentum to really be competitive in the last few holes. I’m confident that can change very soon.
“Some great players are competing here. All of the top Indian guys, who always make it very hard for us playing in India. They have the support of the crowd and the national pride of playing in your own country. I think that has helped them to a lot of success in the history of the event.
“I’m happy to be here, excited about competing here in India again. I think that India as a country is going to have a very important role in the next decades for golf. I like to play on all types of different courses. I think that helps me to grow as a player. It gets my game very complete and that’s maybe why I’ve had a little bit of success all over the world.
“Anirban and SSP, both are great players. They are very, very complete. Anirban I really think is a world class player. What I have always enjoyed and valued a lot about Indian players is how naturally talented they seem to be. The majority of them you look at their swings and they don’t look mechanical at all. It seems like they have been born with it and almost self-taught.”
SSP Chawrasia: “I was runner up four times and I was a bit frustrated. The national Open is like our fifth Major, and finally I won it last year and got the trophy. I’m going to be give it my best and hopefully I can carry the trophy again. Last year was a great year, it was my best year of my career. I’m trying to do better in 2017. It’s still the start of the year, it’s only my fifth tournament and I’m happy with how things are.
“This is a tough course, if we play here more often, we’ll get used to it. It’s a different course. I’ve played a lot abroad but this is totally different. I don’t think there’s home advantage as it’s a new course for most of us. DGC is also a tough course but we’ve played there so many times and we know how to play it. That’s why Indians always play well in DGC.
“17 and 18 will be the tough holes here. They are very tricky. If you hit a good shot, it’s no guarantee where your ball will go. I used six iron and four iron on the 17th tee, both hit the fairway. The main thing is the second shot as the green is elevated and it’s hard to stop the shot on the green.”
