Pristine DGC course awaits McIlroy and Co

New Delhi: A giant cut-out of Tommy Fleetwood stares at you from the clubhouse; trudge towards the putting greens and you're welcomed by a smiling Rory McIlroy; go a little further and you're joined by a triumphant Aaron Rai and an intense Patrick Reed. Lurking thereabouts is the Indian star Shubhankar Sharma as well. It would appear a scene out of a golfing daydream, except, it's really playing out.

The golfing Avengers are set to assemble on the verdant greens of the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) for the second installment of DP World India Championships (October 15-18). Offering a prize purse of $4million, the tournament is the heftiest the continent has seen. If you're a golfing aficionado, it's perhaps time to pinch yourself. The presence of three of the four major winners of the year in one tournament is unheard of in India, but with a budget of $17 million, logistics behemoth DP World — the title sponsors of the tournament — has made it possible.

DGC captain and PGTI CEO Amandeep Johl calls it the "IPL moment" for golf in India. Coming as it does on the heels of Pranavi Urs's historic gold medal at the Asian Games, there'll arguably be a better time to ride the momentum.

“Who would have thought that this kind of money could be invested in a golf tournament in India? An event like this will potentially put India on the global golfing map,” Johl said. Having whetted the appetite of Indian fans last year, it’s time for a veritable buffet. So much so that Indian players are going virtually unnoticed. A leading Indian golfer bemoans a lack of parking space. Another prominent player is practicing his putts without drawing a second glance. The buzz though is unmistakable.

The course bears a fresh, spruced-up look; it’s traditional charm in tune with the makeshift installations.

Headlined by six-time Major champion McIlroy, one of only six players in history to win all the Majors, the field also includes defending champion Fleetwood, former Open winner Shane Lowry, and European Ryder Cup captain and former world No.1 Luke Donald. Such is the star power that the late withdrawal of Norway’s former FedEx Cup winner Viktor Hovland and two-time Major winner Bubba Watson appears a footnote.

The course appears in pristine condition despite showers having made the greens a touch softer. The club has worked with the green superintendent of the DLF Golf and Country Club and a DP World Tour agronomist for about a year.

“The players are happy, the tour is happy. We got good feedback after the practice round. We wanted to make the greens hard and fast. The rains have made it a little softer, which makes things a little easy for the pros,” Johl said.

A far cry from the wide-open modern fairways, DGC presents its unique set of challenges with narrow fairways, dense forestation and thick roughs. Golfers have dubbed it “the jungle”. The key will be accuracy off the tee and percentage shots.

“Length is not the premium here. It is about how square your club face can come and how straight you can hit. Keep the ball in play and you’ll have a decent chance. I’ll back our Indian players to make an impression,” Johl said.

“Just keep the drivers out, because distance is not going to win you the tournament here. Rory didn’t use his driver after the first round last year. Such a course should help our players, but I guess they got a little overawed and intimidated by the occasion the last time.”

A DGC veteran, Johl cautioned about the tricky final stretch. “The 16th is a tough hole. 18th looks easy, but is not. It tends to point towards the right rough. So, a draw off the tee is a good shot. On the front nine, the hole to watch for is probably the ninth and third.”

The top 24 players on the PGTI Order of Merit have got entry, while Shubhankar Sharma and Anirban Lahiri are competing on invitation. Also in action will be rival IGPL players Gaganjeet Bhullar, Karandeep Kochhar and Shiv Kapur, on sponsor invites.

While Shubhankar won the PGTI’s Kapil Dev Invitational last week, the IGPL trio has been on a decent run too. Bhullar and Kochhar finished 1-2 at the Krishna Invitational Hyderabad last week, while Kapur was third at the RVR Delhi Blue Bulls event a week earlier.

“I know Indians haven’t been winning on foreign tours, but most of our boys are in form and the course should be to their liking. With about 30 entries, Indians will form one-fourth of the field. I am happy that a player of Bhullar’s calibre will be here. I want our golfers to show the spirit of (PGTI president) Kapil Dev from 1983 World Cup. Do well here and the sport can flip on its head,” Johl said.

Ronaldo, Tendulkar coming

Brazil football legend Ronaldo and Sachin Tendulkar will be among the audience. This will be the 2002 FIFA World Cup winner Ronaldo’s first visit to India. He is expected to be here on Friday.

"Without a doubt, this is going to be a huge event. Ronaldo is coming to India for this tournament. He'll be here on Friday. Sachin Tendulkar will be here too along with a number of other stars, particularly on the last days," Johl said.

“The whole world is looking at India. When was the last that happened that the world is looking at India? In case of IPL, only the cricketing nations are looking at India. Here we are hosting a truly global sport at such a scale.”