Yuvraj Sandhu has already realised one career goal this week seeing his face on a promotional poster for the Hero Indian Open, but he is hopeful he can check off another by fulfilling a childhood dream with victory at DLF Golf and Country Club.
The 29-year-old is in his rookie season on the DP World Tour, having set several domestic records on his way to topping the Professional Golf Tour of India [PGTI] Order of Merit last year.
Part of a strong local challenge, Sandhu is one of 30 players from India in the field for an event co-sanctioned with the PGTI as he shares the spotlight alongside World Number 22 Akshay Bhatia and defending champion Eugenio Chacarra among others.
After India's national open joined the DP World Tour schedule in 2015, the first three editions were each won by local talent and Sandhu has his eyes set on becoming the fourth.
"As an Indian, you want to win the national open, and that's something which is a dream of a ten-year-old boy," he said.
"I think I did check off one dream as a ten-year-old [already]. I came into the Indian Open this year and I saw my poster out there and I was like, 'I think I've just ticked off one box' and the other one is to get a win.
"So looking forward to [trying to do] that."
While he may be a new name to many, Sandhu is one of the brightest talents to emerge from India in recent years and would become the first player from the country to win on the DP World Tour since Gaganjeet Bhullar in 2018.
He added: "I take it day by day. I want to be the best version that I can be every single day on a different tour, on a better tour, and I would love to do what I did [on the PGTI] on the DP World Tour as well."
Prior to the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January, Sandhu had only ever teed it up on the DP World Tour in his homeland.
While he is searching for his first made cut this season, he is only seeing the positives as he adjusts to a new challenge in his career and step-up in standard.
"To be very honest, I was actually looking forward to stepping up to the DP World Tour right after the third last event of the PGTI because I'd already sealed it [membership]," he said.
"And luckily, fortunate enough, I got my start at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. And playing that course set-up gave me a surprise in a good way that you need to polish off a lot of things.
"Luckily, I've gotten a bit of time the past two weeks just building up to this event with my trainer and with my coach and I think that things are looking good now."
That sense of belief has only grown with a top ten on home soil at last week's DP World PGTI Open, co-sanctioned by the PGTI and the HotelPlanner Tour.
With a focus on his ball flight in practice over the past month, Sandhu is feeling confident he can improve on his previous best result of tied 25th at DLF Golf and Country Club this week.
"It was really windy last week at the HotelPlanner Tour at Classic Golf & Country Club," he said.
"Things that we worked on looked really good. So, definitely a good finish last week adds a little bit to the bonus of the confidence factor.
"Coming into this week, the national open, of course, you're excited and nervous at the same time, but it's good to have that high walking into the week."
Sandhu credits his upbringing, with his father having worked in the Indian Armed Forces, as instrumental in shaping him as a person on and off the course.
"I think it's taught me the worth of good quality hard work, consistent work, and also being in a mindset where you have to be a little delusional until you make it," he said.
"You have to be a little stubborn about the fact that you want to go out there and get it, no matter what.
"If you have to run ten miles in the Indian Army, you just put one foot in front of the other. That's how simple they make it sound.
"But once you start doing that, you start loving the process and then you just keep doing it day after day. So I think that is something which I've lived by now."
This year is the ninth edition of the Hero Indian Open since it joined the DP World Tour schedule in 2015 and it has built a reputation as being one of the toughest tests.
Only three players finished under par last time around, so what does Sandhu think will be the biggest key to performing well?
"I would say DLF is a course where it really tests your ball striking," he said.
"But the course set up this year, from what it looks like, what it's playing, I think a good ball striker would be rewarded.
"Luckily, I've been working on my ball striking quite a bit. So, I'm hoping DLF is good to me."
