Randhawa may face stiff challenge

Randhawa may face stiff challenge
Press Trust of India

New Delhi, March 3: India’s ace golfer Jyoti Randhawa will tee up in defence of his title when he locks horn with old nemesis Sammy Daniels in the National Wills Open Golf starting at the Classic Golf Resort, Gurgaon on March 15.

Sammy Daniels, who lost to Randhawa at the Open last year in the second playoff hole and finished second at the Hero Honda Masters in 1999, will be determined to try again for the elusive Wills Indian Open title.

‘‘It’s my burning desire to win a title in India. I was thwarted last year by Jyoti, but this time round I am determined to get my due,’’ said the South African veteran.

Randhawa was optimistic when he said, ‘‘I am in very good shape and defending my title at this year’s Open will be a tremendous start to my challenge to get the No. 1 position in the Order of Merit.’’

The four-day event will play host to a strong international field of golfers this year led by current Order of Merit leader Charlie Wi of South Korea.

Also seen in action will be Thongchai Jaidee from Thailand, who won the Korean Open last year and is currently running third in the Order of Merit list for 2001 and 1999 Order of Merit winner Kyi Hla Han from Myanmar.

South African Craig Kamps, who finished fourth in the Order of Merit last year besides winning the Lexus international in Thailand last year and Anthony Kang from Korea, who won the London Myanmar Open last month and is fifth in this year’s Order of Merit list complete the list of illustrious names in contention for the title.

The strong Indian squad for the Open, which has been won by Indian golfers since 1998, will be boosted by Arjun Atwal as he aims to repeat his winning performance from the year before when the Open was held at the Royal Calcutta Golf Course.

Both golfers have been dominating the Tour with their consistent performances. Jyoti finished second on last year’s Davidoff Order of Merit with two Major victories, the Wills Indian Open and the Singapore Open later in the year. Atwal was not far behind as he finished fifth after back-to-back victories at the Hero Honda Masters and the Star Alliance Open in Hong Kong. Amandeep Johl, Arjun Singh, Vivek Bhandari, twice Indian Open champion Ali Sher, 1998 Open champion Feroz Ali, Harmeet Kahlon, Amritinder Singh, Uttam Singh Mundy, Yusuf Ali, Digvijay Singh, Mukesh Kumar are among those who will represent the country.