PGA Tour winner Daniel Chopra to compete in Indian Open

New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) Two-time PGA Tour winner Daniel Chopra Thursday confirmed his participation in the $1.25 million golden jubilee edition of the Hero Indian Open golf starting Nov 7 at the historic Delhi Golf Club (DGC).

Daniel spent his initial years playing at DGC and won the All India Junior Golf Championships at the age of 14.

“I’m thrilled to be able to come back to India for the 50th Hero Indian Open. Delhi Golf Club is where I learned to play and Hero are such a great sponsor of golf in India, I can’t think of anything that would make me prouder than to win next week.”

Daniel last competed in India in 2012 when he finished second at the inaugural Shubhkamna Golf Championships in Delhi. Apart from this he finished fourth in the Iskandar Johor Open and sixth at the Thailand Golf Championship last year.

Daniel, who currently is playing in the US PGA tour, finished off his season last month on the Web.com Tour in fine style, ending the Web.com Championship in T29 position. In 2012 on the web.com Tour he finished T3 at the Mid Atlantic Championship and the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr. Pepper respectively. Daniel finished the year in 21st position on the Money List with earnings of $145,290 securing his US PGA Tour card for the new season.

The Indian Open has a very strong line-up including the likes of PGA Tour winner Michael Thompson, who achieved a breakthrough win at the Palm Beach event in Florida. Then there is multiple European Tour winner, Robert Rock, whose resume includes a stunning win over a field featuring Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy at the 2012 Abu Dhabi Classic.

The field this year will also boast of a strong Indian challenge, which blends youth with experience. Former Indian Open winners like Arjun Atwal, also the only Indian player to taste victory on the famed PGA Tour, returns to his National Open, as does Jyoti Randhawa, one of the only two players to win the Indian Open three times in their career – the other one is five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson, who also played a big role in helping establish the event in 1960s.

Four other Indian winners taking part are C. Muniyappa (2009), Vijay Kumar (2002), Feroze Ali (1998) and Ali Sher (1991 and 1993).