New Delhi: Keita Nakajima has rediscovered his greatest golf after a yr that noticed loads of lows because the Japanese prepares to defend his title on the $2.25 million Hero Indian Open, beginning on the DLF Golf and Nation Membership on Thursday.
Japan’s Keita Nakajima gained the 2024 version of Hero Indian Open. (DP World Tour)
The 24-year-old registered his first victory on the DP World Tour to mark his maiden season, making an announcement of his expertise with a 17-under par whole on a troublesome course in Gurugram, which even examined Bryson DeChambeau within the Worldwide Sequence occasion held in January-February.
“Last year, winning here was so great. It gave me a lot of confidence in my first season and I was also able to play all the way to the Tour Championship in Dubai. This is a tough course. I don’t know how I won last year, but I will just stay patient this year,” the 24-year-old instructed the media on Tuesday.
Nakajima’s constructed on the 2024 victory in Gurugram to get into the Paris Olympics area however a T45 end adopted by health points that pressured him to take a break. “I had back pain after the Olympics and then I stopped playing. I started playing again like one month back (in January), so I would like to say thank you to the team, family and also agents.”
He made the reduce and had modest finishes in all his 4 occasions on DP World Tour’s Center East Swing, however ending second in final week’s Singapore Basic, the primary of 4 Asian Swing occasions on the European Tour, one shot behind Englishman Richard Mansell has boosted his confidence. Mansell can be within the area this week.
“Last week at Singapore, the performance was great… I finished second but I was playing great and I still feel positive this week,” he stated.
Nakajima although has a transparent ambition. “I want to win this tournament again and I want to play PGA Tour next year. So, now it’s five Japanese people playing PGA Tour, right. This is so good for Japan. I want to also go into PGA and join them.”
Germany’s 2023 Indian Open winner Marcel Siem is within the 138-player area. SSP Chawrasia, 46, who gained the occasion in 2016 and 2017, is the opposite former champion after receiving a sponsor’s invitation.
Siem has overcome a hip damage to begin enjoying once more. “Since two months my hip is not hurting at all anymore. I can do normal stuff in the gym,” Siem, 44, a six-time winner on the European tour, stated. His T9 end within the Joburg Open in March first week was reward to his enjoying week after week to regain rhythm. In 2023, Siem’s win was his first on the DP World Tour for 9 years. He additionally gained the Italian Open final June.
India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar, 36, hopes the look forward to an Indian to win the Indian Open ends. The final was Chawrasia’s success within the first yr after the occasion shifted to DLF from Delhi Golf Course. Bhullar’s solely win DP World Tour was in Fiji, in 2018. He has 11 Asian Tour wins.
“I’ve never had an international win on the big tour in India. So that’s definitely on the back of my mind. I have played well in DLF. I love to win this tournament one day.”