Prom 'Big Dolphin' Meesawat ditches driver for Delhi Tournament

Prom "Big Dolphin" Meesawat will be one of the players leaving his driver well alone this week as the Asian Tour heads to the tight, tricky Delhi Golf Club for the Panasonic Open India.

The big Thai said he wouldn't have his driver in his bag for the $300,000 event at the famous course lined with trees and temples, where extravagant tee-shots are fraught with risk.

"I never use my driver on this golf course. It isn't even in my bag," said Prom, who lost a play-off to India's Anirban Lahiri, reigning Panasonic Open India champion, at last month's SAIL-SBI Open.

"I have good memories here but this course is very tough. You have to hit it good on every shot until you finish your round. You can't miss the fairway here."

India's S.S.P. Chowrasia and Adam Blyth will also keep the driver safely tucked away. Blyth finished third in the 2008 Indian Open at Delhi Golf Club, and said it was one of his favourite stops on tour.

"The driver is in the bag but it is not getting used! I'm going to hit three wood a couple of times and keep the ball on the fairways," said Blyth, who has two top-10s on the Asian Tour already this year.

"A lot of courses we play in these days require long drives so this course is pretty different. I enjoy it."

Chowrasia, who finished third on the Order of Merit last year, will return to the scene of his first Asian Tour victory in 2008.

"The golf course is not too long so you don't really need to hit a driver. If you do hit the driver off the tees, there's a high chance of finding a bush and the key here is to not miss a single fairway," he said.

Asian Tour winners Rikard Karlberg of Sweden, Peter Karmis of South Africa, Lam Chih Bing of Singapore and Siddikur of Bangladesh, are also among this week's field.