Jeev Milkha Singh will be playing in the Indian Open after 4 years

New Delhi: Jeev Milkha Singh will be back in the capital next month to take part in the Hero Honda Indian Open to be held from October 11 to 14.

The star golfer will be participating in the Indian Open after a gap of four years.

To make the tournament more attractive, the organisers have decided to increase the prize money. It has been raised from US$100,000 to a record $500,000.

Announcing this in a press conference on Thursday, Hero Honda CEO Pawan Munjal promised to make the meet a star studded affair.

Apart from Jeev, top golfers like Jyoti Randhawa, 2005 winner Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, Liang Wenchong of China, Australian Peter Senior and 2004 champion Mardan Mamat from Singapore have confirmed their participation.

All eyes will be on Jeev since he will play at home for the first time after his phenomenal 2006 season. The Chandigarh golfer won the Asian Tour Order of Merit crown last year.

Jeev started last year by ending a frustrating seven-year winless drought with victory at the Volvo China Open. He went on to win the Volvo Masters in Spain in October and then back-to-back titles in Japan at the Casio World Open and the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup.

Out of the 120 participants, 46 places are likely to go to Indian golfers.