By V. Krishnaswamy
Singapore, Nov 5 (IANS) Two years ago, India’s Shiv Kapur had walked off the Serapong Golf Course with an even par 71 after having shot a disastrous 10-over 81 a day earlier and killed all his title hopes.
Then standing around 85th on the Money List on the Asian Tour, the rookie professional Kapur was pondering his chances of keeping his card for the following season.
But his fortunes changed from the following week in Taiwan and he was on to a series of top-10 finishes including a loss in the tiebreaker in the Double A International.
And finally the 2005 season ended with a win at the Volvo Masters of Asia in Bangkok, which also made him the Rookie of the Year on the tour.
On Sunday, Kapur shot a three-over 74 and finished at two-over 286 to tie for eighth place in the Singapore Open.
“I had a birdie and a bogey on the front nine and it was going fine, till three bogeys on back nine,” said Kapur of the final day after having begun the day at one-under for 54 holes and tied eighth, which is where he stayed finally.
Life has not been quite the same since he came for his first Singapore Open in 2005.
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“Yes, I remember that year. I was disappointed, but after that second round I knew I could tackle this course. I like the way it is set up,” recalled Kapur after his second successive top 10 finish at the Singapore Open.
“Yes, now I carry very good memories of this course.
“Back in 2005, I was a rookie and was keen to do well. I was putting pressure on myself. Now I am more patient,” added Kapur.
He won a berth to the 2006 British Open by finishing in top three of a qualifier here on the Sentosa Course and then finished fifth last year and now tied eighth.
“Any time you finish in top 10 in a field like this, it is great. I am not completely pleased since it is not my goal to just finish in top 10. I want to try and win golf tournaments,” says the confident 25-year-old Kapur, who divides his time between New Delhi and Dubai.
“It was nice to do well here with the field including Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Angel Cabrera and so on. It was a great field and world class in strength,” he added.
On being the best Indian, Kapur said, “It is not my goal to be the best Indian. But still it is nice to do well, as there are so many good Indian golfers now. If I cannot win, then I would love another Indian to because we (are) all good friends and it will be great for Indian golf.”
About the final round, Kapur said, “It was not easy. I did the basics right, but I hit three bunkers in a row. I had a bad second shot on the 13th, but on the 14th I hit a perfect tee shot, but it hopped over and went off the fairway.”
He admitted it was windy, but also said: “They had watered the greens so they were better than yesterday (third day).”
Kapur’s eighth place won him $89,066 and should take him back into top 15 or thereabouts with just around $194,000 on UBS Asian Tour Order of Merit.
As for the plans for the rest of the year, Kapur said, “If I had a top three I would have played HSBC. But now I play Hong Kong and then Volvo Masters and I also have a tournament in Japan.”
On playing in Asia and Europe, Kapur admitted, “I love the Asian Tour. The Mondays and Tuesday are generally a lot of fun and socialising as I have so many friends.
“I know Europe is where I should be but I love coming to the Asian Tour every now and then.”