Jakarta, Dec 3 (IANS): Indian golfers Gaganjeet Bhullar and five-time Asian Tour winner Anirban Lahiri will vie for top honours at the $750,000 Bank BRI Indonesia Open starting Thursday at the Damai Indah Golf, Pantai Indah Kapuk course here.
Defending champion Bhullar was in a cast for 21 days after tearing a ligament in his left wrist in September and the Indian golfer will make a welcome return to the Asian Tour event, where he will face strong challenges from a field that includes Asian Tour Order of Merit leader David Lipsky of the United States, three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington of Ireland, six-time Asian Tour champion Scott Hend of Australia and local favourite George Gandranata.
Other Asian Tour stars in the event include S.S.P. Chowrasia of India, Steve Lewton of England, Marcus Booth of Australia, Kang Sung-hoon of Korea, Masahiro Kawamura of Japan, Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei, Kieran Pratt of Australia and Thai duo Chawalit Plaphol and Arnond Vongvanij.
Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand, Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines and Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka are amongst those chasing a first Asian Tour victory.
"It was a frustrating time sitting at home and doing nothing. I did a lot of physiotherapy and acupressure therapy to recover. Now I can hit my driver and three wood without any restrictions," said the 26-year-old Bhullar.
The injury has kept him away from playing regularly but he is excited to return to Indonesia, a country where he won his first Asian Tour tournament in 2009.
"The feeling is quite different because I'm one of those guys who love to play in a lot of tournaments. I think the last two years I've played close to 30 or 35 tournaments a year. It is quite a challenging time for me but Indonesia is close to my heart. I had a lot of good finishes here and I'm looking forward to play some good golf again," said Bhullar.
Harrington, whose last win was at the 2012 PGA Grand Slam of Golf, has sorted his putting issues but reckons he needs to 'get his head in the right place' to contend for the Indonesia Open title.
"The key for me is to get my head in the right place this week. My putting has come around so I have to play more golf now to give myself an opportunity. I'll be more focussed on my mental game more than anything else this week," said the 43-year-old Irishman.
Also, Lipsky with $682,610 in earnings, will have to fend off the strong challenge from a resilient Lahiri, who is $118,256 behind him. Despite the mounting pressure, the 26-year-old Lipsky believes he has the game to help him cross the finishing line.
"I won this year and I've enjoyed some good results so I've exceeded my expectations but I still want to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit. You can't get too content and satisfied despite the results. You always have to keep trying and pushing yourself," said Lipsky.