Stephen Gallacher this week finally gets the opportunity to defend his fifth DP World Tour title when the Hero Indian Open gets under way at DLF Golf and Country Club.
India’s national open returns to the DP World Tour schedule for the first time in four years after the event was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and an exciting mix of proven winners and emerging talents are set to tee it up on the stunning New Delhi layout.
Scotsman Gallacher finished with back-to-back birdies to win by one in the Indian capital back in 2019 and, after a wait of 1,425 days, he will tee it up as defending champion this week. The 48-year-old’s victory was his first DP World Tour triumph since he won back-to-back titles in Dubai in 2013 and 2014.
“I feel great. It’s 1,400-odd days since I was last here so there’s been a lot of hardship that’s happened since then but it’s great to be here and get the event played,” said Gallacher.
“There are plenty of great memories. It’s a course that’s not really changed very much, it’s in amazing condition, same as the last time we were here and I’ve got some great memories coming down the stretch. Hopefully I can replicate them this week.
“It’s just one of those courses you’ve got to be patient at, it’s not one you can force a score on. I had a poor hole on seven and then I think I had five or six birdies from then on in. Anything can happen. You’ve got to play with your head around here. Par is a good score. There’s some tough, tough holes and few you can attack but it’s just a really tough track and one of the best we play all year to be honest.”
Gallacher’s countryman Robert MacIntyre will make his Hero Indian Open debut this week as he looks to earn crucial Ryder Cup Rankings points ahead of this year’s biennial contest at Marco Simone in September, as will fellow Ryder Cup hopefuls Nicolai Højgaard and Guido Migliozzi, who both represented the triumphant Continental Europe team in last month’s Hero Cup.
“I don’t mean to sound disrespectful to anybody but there are golf courses that suit me and it’s the difficult ones where you’re not needing to shoot 20 under par to win golf tournaments,” said MacIntyre.
The bunkers this week are no joke 🫣#HIO2023 pic.twitter.com/DWEAH6FxL0
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 22, 2023
“When it’s more demanding off the tee and more demanding into greens, that’s when I play my best golf. I’ve shown that throughout my years on Tour and this golf course is a tee to green monster. I’m happy with the way I’m playing with things tee to green, it’s just going to be a mental test. My last five mental tests, I’ve failed, so hopefully I’m going to pass it.
The home charge will be led by two-time DP World Tour winner Shubhankar Sharma and rising star Manu Gandas, who earned DP World Tour playing privileges through winning the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India Order of Merit following six victories in the 2022 season, as well as S.S.P. Chawrasia, who won this event in 2016 and 2017.
