Randhawa set for 200th Asian Tour appearance

Seasoned Indian golfer Jyoti Randhawa will celebrate a milestone 200th Asian Tour appearance when he joins 25 other Tour champions at the Panasonic Open India here from March 29.

Title holder Anirban Lahiri, Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand and Korean-American Anthony Kang, who have won a combined total of 11 Asian Tour titles, will also headline the USD 300,000 showpiece to be staged at the Delhi Golf Club.

Thai legend Thaworn Wiratchant, also a former Asian Tour number one, Ben Fox of the United States and Angelo Que of the Philippines will also feature in the event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGTI.

The Panasonic Open India, held for the second year on the Asian Tour schedule, will be beamed live over four days to 200 countries and 650 million homes.

Randhawa, winner of the Order of Merit in 2002, will be aiming to bring back the glory days during which he notched eight titles, five of them on home soil on the established Asian Tour.

After an uncharacteristically quiet 2011 season, where his best finish was a tied fifth place at the Panasonic Open India, Randhawa opted to revert to his old swing at the season-ending Thailand Golf Championship and was immediately rewarded with a 13th place result.

"I changed a few things with my swing which I didn't need to previously. I have gone back to my old swing, made a few adjustments. I need to swing the way I swung under pressure. I need to take that to the golf course," said Randhawa.

"Under pressure, whatever I need to do, I can do it now with the old swing. I know what I need to do to play well in the world of golf. I've got that back now and just need to keep doing it," said the 39-year-old.

The Delhi Golf Club is also a favourite hunting ground for Randhawa as he won back-to-back Indian Open titles in 2006 and 2007 here.

With a new generation of Indian stars taking centrestage in the world of golf, Randhawa will be hoping to rediscover some of his old magic and end a three-year title drought on the Asian Tour.

Randhawa joins an elite group of players including Thaworn, Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand, Anthony Kang of the United States, Mardan Mamat of Singapore, Simon Yates of Scotland, Chawalit Plaphol of Thailand, Lu Wen-teh of Chinese Taipei, Thammanoon Sriroj of Thailand, Gaurav Ghei of India, Wang Ter-chang of Chinese Taipei, Australian Unho Park and Danny Chia of Malaysia.