Chowrasia to be the dark horse in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Nov 14 (UNI) Hailed as the next best thing in Indian golf and admired for a magical short game, SSP Chowrasia will tee off in the two million dollar UBS Hong Kong Open as the dark horse in a star-studded field.

Going through a dream run in his rookie year on the Asian Tour, Chowrasia would be high on confidence after adding his third Tata Open title in Jamshedpur before arriving here on a sponsor's invite.

While all eyes will be on Jyoti Randhawa, who led the first two rounds before finishing tied ninth in the HSBC Champions, and Volvo Masters winners Jeev Milkha Singh to spearhead the Indian challenge, Kolkata pro Chowrasia can surely spring a surprise when he goes out there in the middle.

Other Indians in the fray include Chowrasia's city mate Rahil Gangjee, seasoned Gaurav Ghei and the Harmeet Kahlon-Amandeep Johl duo. Chowrasia has been one of the revelations in his debut Asian Tour season and didn't miss a single cut, thus putting himself in contention for the Rookie of the Year award.

After making nine consecutive cuts, the golfer with a charming smile had tragedy at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters where he led by three strokes after two rounds only to be disqualified for not signing his scorecard.

''That was so disappointing and I was shattered. I skipped an event in China and went home back to spend time with my family and overcome the setback. But now that's past and I'm not going to repeat the same mistake,'' Chowrasia told UNI during the BILT Open.

Putting the fiasco behind him, Chowrasia showed what he is capable of in the Indian Open where he went neck-and-neck with Randhawa before eventually losing the grim battle via playoff and finishing second.

His superb display, however, drew praise from his compatriots and both Randhawa and Shiv Kapur vouched that the Kolkata pro has it in him to win in the Asian Tour.

''Twice he came close to win the titles in his rookie year and that forced all to take notice,'' Gaurav Ghei opined.

''He has the game to win title on the Asian Tour and I think he can play anywhere he wants -- be it European Tour or even US PGA.

The only thing is he has to set his target,'' Shiv explained.

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