DLF is Going to Be a Huge Challenge: Shiv Kapur

The Hero Indian Open will be staged at the revamped DLF Golf & Country Club after a gap of eight years from March 9 to 12. The new venue is sure to present a stern challenge to the best players on the European, Asian and Indian tours as the new 7654 yard Gary Player design course has earned a fearsome reputation already.

- Rohit Bhardwaj

Leading golfers including reigning Women’s Indian Open champion Aditi Ashok besides Ladies European Tour (LET) stars had highlighted the difficulty of scoring low at the Gary Player course when they played there in the past two years.

Consider the winning scores at the Hero Women’s Indian Open in the last two years, held after the new par-72 course opened, were three-under 213 (2016) and one-over 217 (2015). In comparison, the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) – which has been the traditional home of the Indian Open for the past decade – has seen winning scores of 15-under-par (2016) and seven-under par (2015) in the last two editions.

It’s the mens’ turn to get a taste of the tough conditions at DLF. Asian Games gold medallist Shiv Kapur, a regular at the Gurgaon course, felt the DLF is akin to playing on the world class seaming and bouncy pitches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) or Lord’s in London as opposed to playing at the relatively flatter DGC.

“I would call the Delhi Golf Club the golf equivalent of Eden Gardens – like a typical Indian wicket – and DLF is like Lord’s or MCG. It is going to be harder to play at DLF as the course is more undulating and firm. It’s like playing on a seaming, bouncy pitch, in cricket terms – very unpredictable” Kapur told reporters at the media announcement of the enhanced US$1.75 million European Tour showpiece. Incidentally the purse has grown almost six times from US$ 300,000, which it was when Hero took on the Indian Open title sponsorship in 2005.