By IANS
Chandigarh : Harendra Gupta will start the inaugural Centurion Bank of Punjab Open Golf Championship, starting here Thursday, as a favourite since the Chandigarh Golf Club is not only his home course but also his happy hunting ground.
Gupta will lead a powerful local challenge along with Harmeet Kahlon, Amandeep Johl, Uttam Singh Mundy, Amritinder Singh, brothers Ranjit and Randhir Singh Ghotra, Gurbaaz Mann, A.S. Lehal and Sujjan Singh.
“I feel very confident heading into the tournament, having won the 2004 and 2005 editions of Hero Golf Chandigarh at this course as an amateur.
“The key would be to hit accurate tee shots as this course is long and has narrow fairways. One must also be very consistent with the putter,” said Gupta.
The 23-year-old, whose last professional win came at the 2006 IOC XtraPremium Masters in Digboi, is currently ninth on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Order of Merit. His PGTI ranking last year was 18th with three top 10s out of 10 starts. This season he already had three top 10s out of six starts.”
In the 2007-08 PGTI season, Gupta’s three top 10 finishes were recorded at the IOC XtraPremium Masters (third), the Tata Open (second) and the SRF All-India Professional Golf Matchplay Championship (tied fifth).