Sweden’s Daniel Chopra will be driven by his past memories of playing at the Pondok Indah Golf Course when the Indonesia Open starts on Thursday.

The 43-year-old Chopra returns to the venue where he practised and played tournaments as a junior golfer.

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Chopra, a two-time PGA Tour winner and a one-time Asian Tour champion, will make his third appearance in the storied event alongside young Thai Jazz Janewattananond and Indian veteran Jeev Milkha Singh, who came in joint runner-up last year.

George Gandranata will be looking to fly his country’s flag high when he spearheads the local charge with Rory Hie and Danny Masrin at the US$300,000 Asian Tour event which features a talented 140-man field from 18 different countries.

They will be amongst the 30 local players, including eight amateurs, vying to become the first Indonesian to win their National Open since Kasiadi won in 1989.

The storied Indonesia Open will be backed by Indonesian state-owned enterprises, namely Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Mandiri, Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) and Telkom Indonesia.

Daniel Chopra said, “I am really excited to be back here. I woke up very early this morning and came out here very early. It has been a long time since I came here. I used to spend a couple of months here for about five to six years when I was still a junior golfer.”

“I will come here in the winter and play some junior tournaments. After I turned professional, I used to come here to prepare for my tournaments on the Asian Tour too. I have great memories of this course. This golf course has obviously changed over the years but the layout is still the same, he said, adding , “The grasses are like completely different from what I used to play. But I remember the range, the clubhouse and the practice areas. I spent so many hours chipping and putting out there. It’s always exciting to be playing the Indonesia Open, given that I have spent part of my junior days here.”

Meanwhile, Jeev Milkha Singh said, “Good thoughts coming back here obviously, having finished joint runner-up last year. It’s always good to come back to tournaments where you have played well before. Definitely feeling positive coming back and the golf course is in top condition.”

“It is better than last year. The greens are in good shape. The rough is up and the only thing we need to worry about now is the weather. It’s a traditional golf course. I remember playing here when I was still an amateur some 25 years ago. A lot of changes have taken place but it’s a traditional golf course where distance control is required. You need to be accurate off the tee,” he said.