Shubhankar and Veer bear home hopes at Indian Open

The early afternoon temperature touched almost 40 degrees Celsius, yet it was warm-up time for the groups of players on Wednesday at the DLF Golf and Country Club course for this week's $2.25 million Hero Indian Open.

- N Ananthanarayanan

GURUGRAM:

The Gary Player-designed course has left even top players frustrated, the rough and the difficulty of landing close to the pin due to the undulating greens. Indian fans, though, will hope it will be a home winner on Sunday.

An Indian has not won since 2017—four editions have been held since through the Covid disruptions. SSP Chowrasia completed back-to-back wins that year when the national open was moved here. He is in the 138-player field on the sponsor's invitation. Veer Ahlawat came close last year, finishing tied second, and three shots off winner, Japan's Keita Nakajima.

However, it is likely to be Shubhankar Sharma who will carry the biggest expectation among the 30 Indians in the field. Still only 28, the player who finished T8 at the Open Championship in 2022 braving brutal weather conditions can be expected to battle through in a tournament where he has made the cut on all seven occasions.