Chowrasia, Ormsby, Siddikur among top contenders

Speaking on the eve of the Panasonic Open, he said, ‘I have been playing well and am hitting the ball confidently. It is just a question of things coming together and it could happen anytime.’

Chowrasia has had a total of seven top-10 finishes this year on three different Tours the Asian, the European and the Asian Development Tours. Giving Chowrasia a run for his money will be Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh, who returns to competitive golf at the Panasonic Open after being side-lined by an injury which hospitalised him for 15 days, besides the defending champion, Wade Ormsby, whohas had a good season in Europe but came back to defend his first title.

Others in the fray will include S Chikkarangappa, winner of the Take Solutions ADT event last week, Chiragh Kumar, a former Indian Open runner-up at this course, Mardan Mamat, winner of the Indian Open at DGC exactly 10 years ago, and Rahil Gangjee.

Smiling as usual, Chowrasia was a picture of confidence as he recalled some fond memories of the Delhi Golf Club, where he won his first joint-sanctioned event six years ago in 2008. Over the years he has had some terrific results at the famous tree-lined and challenging course. His last three appearances at the DGC have seen him finish in top-five. He was tied fifth at 2013 Panasonic Open and then tied second at 2013 Hero Indian and then tied fourth at SAIL-SBI Open this year.