Randhawa, Chopra rivalry to light up Indian Open

BIG MONEY: The prize money of Indian Open Golf Tournament is $1 million this year.

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New Delhi: Golfer Daniel Chopra was born in India but holds a Swedish passport.

He will be hoping for some home crowd support when he returns to Delhi Golf club for the Indian Open in a couple of months but it won't be easy against a player who treats the course like his own backyard.

The Indian Open is considered to be the most prestigious tournament on the Indian golfing calender and the stakes are set to get even higher this year with prize money worth $1 million on offer.

Chopra and ace Indian golfer Jyoti Randhawa will be the leading contenders for the tournament and over four days at the Delhi Golf Club, their rivalry is set to reach a new level.

"Daniel is coming after almost 5-6 years to play and after he has won on the US tour. He is one of the top players on the US tour," PGTI chief Ajay Gupta said.

An eagle by Randhawa sealed up his win in the 2007 edition of the tournament and it is no secret that he loves the Delhi Golf Club and would be gunning for a fourth Indian Open title.

"For him to win an Indian Open has a lot of meaning because he is very patriotic. it means a lot to him. So he puts his heart and soul into this event every time," Gupta said about Randhawa.

The conditions obviously will hold the key for the golfers and the organisers are promising a tricky ride.

"There are so many thing off the tee. There are trees, fast fairway. A lot of our professionals when they come here, they har5dly use the drive because they know the dangers of hitting into the trees. It's automatically two shots gone," Asian Tour tournament director David Parkin said.

Randhawa has completely dominated the Indian Open for the past two years and has won it more time than anyone else in the world. But with $1 million as prize money and a star studded field it is definitely not going to be easy for him this time.