Despite the seemingly nostalgic presence of the previous venue’s Lodhi tombs in the tournament logo, 2009’s Indian Open has promised a few novelties. There is the new venue of course — DLF Golf & Country Club — and there is the pleasant surprise of an economically against-the-grain prize money hike. Unfortunately, all that might be accompanied by the absence of some of the country’s biggest names from the field.

It’s a critical time in the season for most international tours, and Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur might be too caught up in trying to fulfil their respective necessities abroad to be able to make it to the 46th edition of the ‘national open’.

The likely absence of Jeev, who is focusing on getting a full PGA Tour membership for next season, was spoken about at the announcement of the October 8-11 tournament in Gurgaon on Tuesday.

Randhawa and Kapur are both desperate to make as much money in trying to retain their European Tour cards for 2010 — being currently placed 107th and 112th respectively on the order of merit. The top 115 keep their cards. Speaking to The Indian Express, both said they were likely to play at the Madrid Masters on the same dates. “I haven’t entered the Indian Open yet,” Randhawa said, “I’m right on the bubble on the money list in Europe, so I’m probably going to be playing the Madrid tournament.”

Kapur echoed that status: “It (Madrid Masters) is one of the last few tournaments I will get to play, so I’m probably playing there,” he said.

... contd.