New Delhi, India, March 27: Read what players have to say ahead of the Hero Indian Open.

Scott Hend (Aus)

 It took a fair while for it to sink in that I had actually won, and I didn’t really enjoy it until yesterday morning when I was sitting at the airport in Bangkok on my way here. It was a pretty busy Sunday afternoon and Monday I had a really bad headache from heatstroke, didn’t even get a chance to celebrate, so it’s been a bit of a whirlwind trip here and now it’s time to enjoy it.

I find it a daunting golf course. I wouldn’t say tricky or difficult, it’s just that if you hit a bad shot here you are going to be penalised. If I don’t hit the ball how I want to, I am just going to make a double or triple bogey somewhere and it is a course where you can’t over power it. You still have to be in control of your golf ball and plot your way around the course.

I would like to have a sound tournament and play solid on this golf course. It is a tournament I haven’t figured out yet how to play. I’ve watched one of the shortest players on Tour win around here playing with S.S.P (Chawrasia) when he took it apart, and then I saw Matt Wallace play great here last year. So, SSP who just plots his way around the golf course and just breaks it apart, then you have Matt Wallace who was just pounding the golf ball everywhere, so somewhere in the middle there has got to be a key to playing the course well.

I am starting to get to where I want to be, I am not there yet but it is a slow progression.

I will play the golf course in a very defensive frame of mind. There are some holes out here that you can take advantage of and some you really have to be careful with, and par is a good score.

To win here in India with a lot of Indian friends, it would be special because in terms of national opens this is such a prestigious tournament, it has been going for such a long time and to get your name on that trophy would be an honour and a privilege.

Anirban Lahiri (Ind)

It’s always wonderful to be back home, having marsala for breakfast. I’ve just missed this. Every time I come back, I have happy memories, having played well in this tournament for a number of years. It’s also interesting to see all the young kids coming out and grown on tour. I always look forward to playing this event.

My game has been a bit inconsistent but it is moving in the right direction. I’ve had a couple of bad weekends, but I have managed to single out the problems which need to be fixed and I just need to pull it together and stay focused. I need to clean up my process on the weekend rounds. The problem with me is I always try too hard and losing my rhythm in that process.

Flying in straight from the US and having travelled so much the past few weeks my main focused is to keep my head in the right place.

This course is probably in the best shape that any of us has seen so far. Also in the sense of playability. It seems to be the most playable compared to all the other years we’ve played. The greens are also softer and the grass has settled down. It will be a great golf course, we’ll see how it goes because it really changes depending on if the tees are pushed back or pushed forward.

Shubhankar Sharma (Ind)

This was my home course for the longest time and it feels great to be back on familiar grounds and I stay very close to the golf course so all my family is here to watch me.

Obviously last year a lot of things were happening. I flew in straight from Mexico and then right after I flew to The Masters. So, I had to deal with jetlag and amidst all that I was still able to soot the course record and do pretty well. I am a lot more relaxed this time around and more focused so this year will be different.

The course is playing much better than last year. Most of the players I’ve spoken to have been happy with how the course is. I am obviously a lot more mature this year and really enjoying my game. I just want to get back into the groove again of playing at my best again.

It would mean the world to me, the Indian open is very special to us Indians, especially to win on a course that has supported me in my career.

And to join the past Indian winners that I have idolized since I was young has always been my goal. Hopefully everything goes well this week and we’ll see what happens.

Ends.