Anirban Lahiri favourite at season opener

“I had a good couple of seasons in the last two years because I had a good start to those seasons. And this is the only year that I have played a lot of golf before the SAIL open, so in a way I am match fit,” Lahiri said.

The strong field will feature five players from the top-10 of last year’s Order of Merit. Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman, who bagged fourth place on the 2013 Order of Merit, two-time Hero Indian Open champion Thaworn Wiratchant (Thailand), past winners Chapchai Nirat and Swedish Rikard Karlberg will be the other top contenders.

The Indian challenge will be strengthened by the presence of former Asian Tour winners SSP Chowrasia, Jyoti Randhawa, Digvijay Singh, Rahil Gangjee,and Himmat Singh Rai. Himmat said, “We always look forward to DGC. It is so unique and its variation always offers something new in it. The golf course is in good shape and there would be plenty of scoring opportunities and I hope I can club together four rounds of exciting golf.”

Lahiri added, “I played nine holes. It is playing good but there have been rains. But conditions will improve if it gets some more sunshine.”