Two days ahead of the Hero Indian Open, which tees off at the DLF Golf and Country Club on Thursday, Robert McIntyre was posed a simple query: How is the course? The Scotsman sighed, threw an expression of helplessness and called it one of the toughest courses in the world. This, despite his hole-in-one on the par-3 16th. SSP Chawrasia, a two-time winner of the event – he has two more wins on the European Tour – agreed. So did Shubhankar Sharma. So did local boy Manu Gandas. Simply put, the 120-odd players who tee off are likely to have a fight on their hands as the DP World Tour event returns after a Covid-enforced three-year hiatus. While the likes of Jyoti Randhawa and Chawrasia will hope to draw on their vast experience, the $2 million tournament presents an excellent opportunity for young Indians to make a mark, chief among them the 26-year-olds, Manu Gandas and Sharma. “I do hope an Indian wins. If not me, some other Indian should win it,” Chawrasia laughed. The last Indian to win the Indian Open – he won in 2016 and 2017 – expects two-time DP World Tour winner Sharma and Gandas to be in contention. "Both have a fair chance, but it won't be easy. You need to have a good all-round game to tame such courses,” Chawrasia, 44, said. Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen, 33, will be among the main contenders. The 33-year-old is the form player and comes in after last week’s victory at the Thailand Classic, his seventh title on the DP Tour. Gandas and Sharma played together as 10-year-olds before Sharma broke through and earned full membership on the European Tour in 2018. Gandas toiled on the Indian circuit until he produced a dream 2022 season, winning six titles and topping the PGTI Order of Merit with a record earning of ₹ 88. 50 lakh. Having got his European tour card -- the PGTI Order of Merit winner gets a spot on the European tour as per a recent agreement – Gandas is still getting used to handling that step up. The start to his maiden season on the DP World Tour has been far from ideal, having missed cuts in two of his three events. Gandas aims to make amends on home turf. “This is very much my local course. I learned all my golf here and am fairly acquainted with the challenges,” he said. Easier said than done. In his last start here, back in 2018, Gandas failed to make the cut. That was just three years after the course was opened following a redesign by golf legend Gary Player. Gandas believes the greens are much settled now. “The greens are fast and the roll is true. It’s a good, challenging course that tests your overall game,” he said. Sharma, who last played here in 2019, said the fully-grown bushes and trees lining them make the fairways appear a lot narrower, making it more “intimidating”. Sharma, who was T-7 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January, has arrived after a disappointing T-116 in Thailand last week. He expects an attritional week. “I feel there will be many single-digit scores here. It will be a long week, and on courses such as these, it is never over until it is over. I trust my game to come together and go all the way,” he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shantanu Srivastava Shantanu Srivastava is an experienced sports journalist who has worked across print and digital media. He covers cricket and Olympic sports. . . . view detail Subscribe to our best newsletters HT Daily Capsule Pick a topic of your interest and subscribe All Newsletters Subscribe Subscribed to newsletter successfully Thank you for subscribing to our Daily News Capsule newsletter. .