Indian Open’s 56th edition postponed
The DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) had announced that the Hero Indian Open would be played from Feb. 17-20 at DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurgaon. However, while the tour website continues to show those dates for the tournament, given current travel restrictions, sources say the event has been postponed and could now be played a month later from March 31 to April 3.
The Indian Open is the longest running annual international event in any sport in India but was not held in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore the return of the tournament is not only eagerly anticipated, but one of great importance to the Indian golf community.
Having the event in February would have been ideal because of the pleasant weather. The timing would also have made it easier for European players who are currently in the Middle East to travel to India. These new dates in end March means temperatures could hit 40 degrees Celsius, and with no other European Tour event immediately before or after in Asia, means Europeans are less likely to make the trip. An official announcement is expected soon.
Interestingly, Asian Tour is playing its US$500,000 The DGC Open from March 24-27, which is quickly followed by a US$75,000 Asian Development Tour event at Classic Golf & CC from March 29 – April 1, 2022.
This will also be the first time since 2015 that the Indian Open is not co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Asian Tour and both the tours are organising their own separate independent events in India.
2022 will mark the 15th consecutive year that Hero MotoCorp – the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, and one of the biggest corporate promoters of multi-disciplinary sports around the world – is supporting the tournament. The event, which is owned and promoted by the Indian Golf Union (IGU), was first played in 1964. The last Indian to win it was SSP Chawrasia in 2017.