It’s that week of the year every professional golfer waits for. Your own national Open is always extremely dear to you, and the Hero Indian Open is no exception for the Indian pros and fans.

The tournament, which was first played in 1965, is now a joint sanctioned event on the European and Asian Tours, and despite the presence of several stars – like three-time major champion Padraig Harrington this week – the spotlight will be firmly on the Indian players.

It would be fantastic if my very good friend Padraig goes on to win the tournament, but even better for the future of Indian golf if one of our own holds aloft the trophy come Sunday. Tournaments like these are golden opportunities for players to punch their tickets to the European Tour, and further their careers on a bigger platform.

Anirban Lahiri is the defending champion and he is a good example for other youngsters to follow. He has done exceptionally well for himself in the past few years, and the truth is, we have many more youngsters who are equally talented. It’s time they started thinking big.

This year, the tournament is at Delhi Golf Club, and that gives a distinct advantage to our players. Over the years, it has been a good hunting ground for Indians, because they are very familiar with the terrain, and believe me, there are very few golf courses like the DGC.

What makes DGC so different is that it is a very tight golf course, and the premium is on finding the fairways. If you err ever so slightly off the tee, or even with your other shots, there is a good chance you will find yourself in the famous thorny bushes of DGC. They are known to ruin your clothing, but more importantly, your scorecard.

Many players will take the extreme step of taking their drivers out of the bag this week. While we all know the importance of the putter, the fact remains that the driver still is considered the weapon of choice by a majority of pros. At DGC, it only pushes you deeper into trouble if you are not 100 per cent sure with it.

I have been playing at the DGC since I was a small child. It is one golf course where I haven’t won yet, and that is something I am looking forward to trying to change. The key is to manage the course and you’ve got to be positive all the time. It’s very easy to get frustrated on the golf course, but it’s also one where you have got to concentrate and give each of the shots you hit your 100 per cent. Anything less, and you will run up an ugly number on that hole.

I had a very good trip to Thailand, and three consecutive rounds in the 60s to finish inside the top-10 has given me a lot of confidence. Hopefully, I will be able to maintain that momentum this week.

(Jeev Milkha Singh is a four-time champion on the European Tour)