Rafa Cabrera Bello believes he will have to overcome a strong home challenge if he is to end his European Tour title drought at this week's Hero Indian Open.
The Spaniard arrives in New Delhi as the highest-ranked player in the field at 26th in the Official World Golf Ranking but is seeking a first win since the 2012 Dubai Desert Classic.
Having not missed a cut since 2015, many are expecting Cabrera Bello to be at the right end of the leaderboard again but the 32 year old is taking nothing for granted at DLF Golf and Country Club.
India had just one win in its national Open between 1964 and 1990 but the tournament has been peppered with home triumphs since, with Arjun Atwal, Jyoti Randhawa, C Muniyappa, Anirban Lahiri and SSP Chawrasia all in the field this week.
And Cabrera Bello believes it is the Indians who could be his biggest threat.
"It is a very strong field, obviously," he said. "Some very great players are competing here.
"All of the top Indian guys, who always make it very hard for us playing in India. They have the support of the crowd and the national pride of playing in your own country. I think that has helped them to a lot of success in the history of the event.
"I'm happy to be here, excited about competing here in India again. I think that India as a country is going to have a very important role in the next decades for golf in the world.
"Anirban and SSP, both are great players. They are very, very complete. Anirban I really think is a world class player.
"What I have always enjoyed and valued a lot about Indian players is how naturally talented they seem to be. The majority of them, you look at their swings and they don't look mechanical at all. It seems like they have been born with it and almost self-taught."
I'm happy to be here, exblockquoted about competing here in India again - Rafa Cabrera Bello
Although he may not have lifted a trophy for five years, Cabrera Bello has finished runner-up six times since his desert triumph, including twice on last season's Desert Swing and at the UBS Hong Kong Open in December.
That early season form in 2016 helped earn his a place in the European Ryder Cup Team and while he may not have made the same flying start this term, he is happy with his game.
"It hasn't been as good a start as last year but it hasn't been bad at all," he said. "I've made all of the cuts I've played, I've been in contention once or twice.
"Obviously it's getting there, the game is good, I just maybe haven't had that bit of momentum to really be competitive in the last few holes. I'm confident that can change very soon."
