The
Hero Honda Indian Open is one of the most prestigious
golfGolf is a precision club-and-ball sport, in which competing players , using many types of clubs, attempt to hit balls into each hole on a golf course while employing the fewest number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not require a standardized playing area...
tournaments on the
Asian TourThe Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. The Asian Tour is administered from offices in Singapore...
and has been staged for several years at the
Delhi Golf ClubThe Delhi Golf Club is one of the oldest golf-courses in Asia and the oldest one in Delhi. It was founded in the 1920's as the Lodhi Club and is located at Dr. Zakir Hussain Road in Nizamuddin....
.
The inaugural event was held in 1964 and won by Peter Thomson of
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
who was the inspiration behind the event. Thomson used to stop off in India whilst travelling worldwide to play and soon realised the potential for golf and that the best way to promote it would be an international tournament. It was this insight that persuaded the Indian Golf Union to establish the Indian Open. Thompson continued to play in the event and won again in 1966 and 1976 a record. His three wins has only been equalled by
Jyoti RandhawaJyoti Singh Randhawa is an Indian professional golfer who was ranked in the top 100 of the world and is the second highest Indian in the world rankings....
in 2007.
The first home bred winner was the legendary amateur Prem Gopal (Billoo) Sethi in 1965 who won by seven strokes and still remains the only amateur winner. It was not until 1991 when Ali Sher became champion that India had another winner which he repeated again in 1993. Since then Firoz Ali (1998),
Arjun AtwalArjun Singh Atwal is an Indian professional golfer who has played on the Asian Tour and the European Tour and was the first Indian to become a member of the U.S...
(1999),
Jyoti RandhawaJyoti Singh Randhawa is an Indian professional golfer who was ranked in the top 100 of the world and is the second highest Indian in the world rankings....
(2000, 2006, and 2007) and Vijay Kumar (2002) have all won.
In 1970 the Indian Open became part of the Asia Golf Circuit and as a result the field increased in strength with notable winners such as three time major champion
Payne StewartWilliam Payne Stewart was an American professional golfer who won three majors in his career, the last of which occurred only months before he died in an airplane accident at the age of 42....
.
There have been a number of sponsors over the years with Hero Honda Motors Ltd taking over title sponsorship in 2005. The prize fund for 2009 reached an all time high of US$1.25 million.
Winners
| Year |
Winner |
Country |
Score |
Venue |
First Prize |
| 2009 |
Chinnaswamy Muniyappa |
|
276 |
DLF Golf and Country Club |
US$ 198,125 |
| 2008 |
Liang Wen-Chong Liang Wen-Chong is a Chinese professional golfer. He is the highest ranked golfer from the People's Republic of China and the only Chinese golfer in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking. He has succeeded his mentor Zhang Lian-wei as the top Chinese player.Liang plays on the Asian Tour...
|
|
272 |
Delhi Golf Club |
US$ 158,500 |
| 2007 |
Jyoti Randhawa Jyoti Singh Randhawa is an Indian professional golfer who was ranked in the top 100 of the world and is the second highest Indian in the world rankings....
|
|
275 |
Delhi Golf Club |
US$ 79,250 |
| 2006 |
Jyoti Randhawa Jyoti Singh Randhawa is an Indian professional golfer who was ranked in the top 100 of the world and is the second highest Indian in the world rankings....
|
|
270 |
Delhi Golf Club |
US$ 63,400 |
| 2005 |
Thaworn Wiratchant Thaworn Wiratchant is a Thai professional golfer. He is one of only two golfers to have won 10 events on the Asian Tour....
|
|
272 |
Delhi Golf Club |
US$ 47,250 |
| 2004 |
Mardan Mamat Mardan Mamat is a Singaporean professional golfer.Mamat was born in Singapore. He turned professional in 1994.Mamat plays on the Asian Tour, where he won for the first time at the 2004 Royal Challenge Indian Open. In 2006 he won the Singapore Masters, which was co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and...
|
|
270 |
Delhi Golf Club |
US$ 50,000 |
| 2003 |
Mike Cunning Mike Cunning is an American professional golfer.Cunning was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He played collegiately at the University of Arizona. He turned professional in 1980....
|
|
270 |
Delhi Golf Club |
US$ 50,000 |
| 2002 |
Vijay Kumar |
|
275 |
Delhi Golf Club |
US$ 50,000 |
| 2001 |
Thongchai Jaidee Thongchai Jaidee is a Thai professional golfer who plays on the Asian Tour and the European Tour. He holds the record for most career victories on the Asian Tour....
|
|
271 |
Classic Golf Resort, Gurgaon |
US$ 50,010 |
| 2000 |
Jyoti Randhawa Jyoti Singh Randhawa is an Indian professional golfer who was ranked in the top 100 of the world and is the second highest Indian in the world rankings....
|
|
273 |
Classic Golf Resort, Gurgaon |
US$ 50,010 |
| 1999 |
Arjun Atwal Arjun Singh Atwal is an Indian professional golfer who has played on the Asian Tour and the European Tour and was the first Indian to become a member of the U.S...
|
|
276 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
US$ 50,010 |
| 1998 |
Firoz Ali |
|
274 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1997 |
Edward Fryatt |
|
272 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1996 |
Hidezumi Shirataka |
|
277 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1995 |
Jim Rutledge James Edgar Rutledge is a Canadian professional golfer who currently plays on the Nationwide Tour.Rutledge was born in Victoria, British Columbia. He won the Canadian Juvenile Championship in 1975 at the Gorge Vale Golf Club in Victoria and the Canadian Junior Championship in 1977. He turned...
|
|
280 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1994 |
Emlyn Aubrey |
|
285 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1993 |
Ali Sher |
|
288 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1992 |
Stewart Ginn Stewart Ginn is an Australian professional golfer.Ginn was born in Melbourne. He grew up behind the twelfth green of the Royal Melbourne Golf Club and started caddying at the age of ten. In the 1970s and 1980s he won several professional tournaments on the PGA Tour of Australasia and one on the...
|
|
284 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1991 |
Ali Sher |
|
283 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1990 |
Andrew Debusk |
|
288 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1989 |
Remi Bouchard |
|
279 |
Delhi Golf Club |
US$19,992 |
| 1988 |
Lu Chien-soon |
|
281 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
US$16,660 |
| 1987 |
Brian Tennyson |
|
280 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1986 |
Lu Hsi-chuen |
|
279 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1985 |
Tony Grimes |
|
279 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1984 |
Rafael Alarcon |
|
279 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
US$ 16,660 |
| 1983 |
J. Takahashi |
|
285 |
Delhi Golf Club |
US$ 12,495 |
| 1982 |
Hsu Sheng-san |
|
277 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1981 |
Payne Stewart William Payne Stewart was an American professional golfer who won three majors in his career, the last of which occurred only months before he died in an airplane accident at the age of 42....
|
|
284 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1980 |
Kurt Cox |
|
286 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1979 |
Gaylord Burrows |
|
284 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1978 |
Bill Brask |
|
284 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1977 |
Brian Jones Brian Jones is an Australian professional golfer.Jones was born in Sydney. He turned professional in 1971. He played on the throughout Asia and Australasia including on the Japan Golf Tour. He won the Indian Open three times, five times in Australasia, and twelve times in Japan...
|
|
284 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1976 |
Peter Thomson |
|
288 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1975 |
Ted Ball Edward "Ted" Ball is an Australian professional golfer. He has had a huge amount of success playing in Australia, winning 11 times on the PGA Tour of Australasia, and winning over 50 tournaments in his career....
|
|
282 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1974 |
C.H. Kuo |
|
287 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1973 |
Graham Marsh Graham Vivian Marsh MBE was one of the leading Australian professional golfers of his generation.-Career outline:Marsh was born in Kalgoorlie, Australia...
|
|
280 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1972 |
Brian Jones Brian Jones is an Australian professional golfer.Jones was born in Sydney. He turned professional in 1971. He played on the throughout Asia and Australasia including on the Japan Golf Tour. He won the Indian Open three times, five times in Australasia, and twelve times in Japan...
|
|
282 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1971 |
Graham Marsh Graham Vivian Marsh MBE was one of the leading Australian professional golfers of his generation.-Career outline:Marsh was born in Kalgoorlie, Australia...
|
|
275 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1970 |
Chen Chien Chung |
|
279 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1969 |
Ben Arda |
|
291 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1968 |
Kenji Hosoishi |
|
285 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1967 |
Kenji Hosoishi |
|
287 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1966 |
Peter Thomson |
|
284 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
| 1965 |
P.G. Sethi (amateur) |
|
282 |
Royal Calcutta Golf Club |
|
| 1964 |
Peter Thomson |
|
292 |
Delhi Golf Club |
|
External links