India, April 1 -- For Indian men's professional golf, there is no platform bigger than the Hero Indian Open. It is our national open, it is our oldest tournament, and it is one that really showcases to the world where our golf currently stands.

So, it wasn't surprising that fans were concerned when only three Indian professionals made the cut - the lowest ever since the tournament was sanctioned by the DP World Tour in 2015. The previous low was eight players moving to the weekend (2018, '19 and '24).

Messages have been flying in WhatsApp groups and other social media platforms. There have been various theories on why we have been so poor.

First things first, the 2026 Hero Indian Open result is not a fair reflection of the quality of I...