Kolkata, Mar 19 (PTI) Twenty-five years after they finished top two at the Indian Open here in 1999, the veteran duo of Arjun Atwal and SSP Chaurasia will be back competing at the inaugural 'Kolkata Challenge 2024', beginning here on Thursday.

"It's a pleasure to be back home. I'm probably the oldest man on the field, so expectations are low. We will see what happens," Atwal said on Tuesday.

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He was quick to add that he knows the course like the back of his hand.

"But there is a thing to be said about experience as well. I know every corner of this golf course. I've hit everywhere on this golf course.

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"That's an advantage, but the new tee boxes and some of the holes being lengthened will be a challenge. I'll be alright."

Chawrasia remembered that eventful tournament of 1999 and how it shaped his career.

"I was just 18 then. I couldn't remember so many things. Everything was shocking for me. My career changed from there," Chawrasia said.

The other Indians in the fray include DP World Tour winner Gaganjeet Bhullar, Challenge Tour winner and 2023 TATA Steel PGTI Ranking champion Om Prakash Chouhan, current TATA Steel PGTI Ranking leader Manu Gandas, Rashid Khan, Olympian Udayan Mane, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, Chikkarangappa and Karandeep Kochhar.

The leading names from the Challenge Tour in the field include Road to Mallorca Ranking Number One John Parry of England, Mikael Lindberg and Björn Åkesson from Sweden, France's Martin Couvra and Denmark's Lucas Bjerregaard, among others.

The event at the historic Royal Calcutta Golf Course from March 21–24 marks the return of an international event to Kolkata and the RCGC after a long gap of 25 years.

"We are proud to host the Kolkata Challenge, an international event at RCGC, after 25 years. We welcome all the overseas and PGTI players," Gaurav Ghosh, captain, RCGC, said.

The tournament, co-sanctioned by the European Challenge Tour and the TATA Steel PGTI, carries a prize purse of USD 300,000 and constitutes the second event in the two-week Indian swing of the Challenge Tour.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)