Indian Open: Jeev, Jyoti lead challenge

New Delhi: Country's top-ranked golfer Jeev Milkha Singh and defending champion Jyoti Randhawa will spearhead the local challenge while Lu Wen-teh's red hot form makes him the dark horse in the Hero Honda Indian Open, which kicks off on Thursday.

As part of its preparation for Indian Masters, country's first European Tour event scheduled next year, the hitherto benign DGC has been stretched beyond the 7,000-yard mark, which means sub-par rounds would not be easy to come by.

Three crucial holes have undergone massive changes, including the par-three seventh which was stretched from a modest 182 to a monstrous 230-yard, which puts a premium on precision.

And that makes Jeev a formidable player in a star-studded field featuring 26 Asian Tour winners.

Jeev has built a reputation of thriving in adversity and hostility often brought out the best in him.

The best example came in the US Open where he finished tied 36th while the likes of Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Retief Goosen and Henrik Stenson missed the cut as Oakmont bared its fangs.

Jeev said course management would make a lot of difference.

"Traditionally at DGC, you always have to be very accurate off the tee and now that they have added more length, it would be even more difficult," he said.

Coming off a dream season last year, Jeev would also be fuelled by the urge to do well before home crowd and lift the title that is missing from his cupboard.