Rasmus Højgaard, Yannick Paul in field for Hero Indian Open 2024

Rasmus Højgaard, one half of the Danish twins who are turning heads on the world’s golf stage will be out to add more silverware to his growing collection when he tees off at the $2.25 million Hero Indian Open March 28 to 31. Joining him will be Germany’s Yannick Paul, the 2023 runner-up who feels he has unfinished business in India.

Højgaard, who already has four wins on the DP World Tour and turned 23 on Tuesday will get a taste of the DLF Golf and Country Club for the first time, and will hope to mark his birthday month with a further jump in his world rankings that currently stands at 75th after being as high as 63rd at one point.

Headlining the field that will see all top home stars in action is 2015 Hero Indian Open winner, Anirban Lahiri, now plying his trade as a key member of the successful Crusher GC team in the LIV Golf League.

The Dane has made a brisk start to his 2024 season with top-10 finishes in three successive starts. He was second at Ras Al Khaimah, tied eighth in Bahrain and T6 in Qatar. Before that, he took identical T11 placings at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and the Dubai Invitational.

Højgaard’s first win at the 2019 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open made him the third youngest to win a title in the DPWT and he added to that by winning the 2020 ISPS Handa UK Championship, the 2021 Omega European Masters and the 2023 Made in Himmerland, held in his home country. A win at the Hero Indian Open would bring Rasmus closer to getting into the top 10 of the tour rankings for 2024, which could earn him a card into the PGA Tour where his twin Nicolai already plays.

Nicolai played last year at the Hero Indian Open and took away a T32nd.

Also confirming entry to the Hero Indian Open will be Yannik Paul, who lost out to fellow-German Marcel Siem in 2023 and will be keen to make amends after narrowly missing out last time. The 30-year-old, who made his Hero Indian Open debut last year, came within a whisker of a second win on the Tour, after starting with a brilliant 65 on the first day.

Paul was sub-par on all four days and despite a bogey-free final round, fell one stroke short of eventual champion Siem, who will miss out this year with an injury. He too has begun 2024 well with a T8 at the Dubai Invitational and T4 at the Ras Al Khaimah Championships.

The tournament, now in its 57th edition is offering an enhanced prize purse of $2.25 million and will be a part of the Asian Swing as the second of five such events that includes the Porsche Singapore Classic (March 21 to 24), Korea Championship (April 18 to 21), the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan (April 25 to 28) and the Volvo China Open (May 2 to 5).