Nine past champions to tee off at Hero Honda Indian Open

NEW DELHI, October 3: The Hero Honda Indian Open 2008 will witness the best ever draw in the tournament's history with nine past champions including the winners of the last six editions of the tournament looking to draw blood again at the 45th edition of the tournament. The tournament will be played at the par-72 Delhi Golf Club from October 9 to 12, 2008 with the pro-am teeing off proceedings on October 8. India's most prestigious golfing event will for the first ever time, offer USD One Million in prize money. The winner's cheque will be worth USD 158,500, while the runner-up will get to take home USD 108,500. The list of winners of the Indian Open competing this year includes Jyoti Randhawa (2000, 2006 & 2007), Thaworn Wiratchant, Thailand (2005), Mardan Mamat, Singapore (2004), Mike Cunning, USA (2003) and Vijay Kumar (2002). In addition there will be Ali Sher (1991 & 1993) and Feroz Ali (1998) looking to relive their glory days. From a global perspective two competitors are ranked in the top-100 in the world namely Jeev Milkha Singh, currently ranked 58th and Mark Brown ranked 81st. In addition, PGA Tour regular Daniel Chopra considered the biggest attraction this week, is sitting on the bubble at 101st place. Mark Brown, who leads the Order of Merit courtesy back-to-back wins at the SAIL Open and the Johnnie Walker Classic earlier this year, will be keen to extend his honeymoon with India. Both the Kiwi's triumphs came on Indian soil and more importantly in the National Capital Region.