By IANS
New Delhi : Ace golfer Shiv Kapur said Wednesday that he won’t be surprised if an Indian wins the inaugural $2.5 million EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters, the first European Tour event to be played in the country, that tees off Thursday.
“We’ve all seen how Joyti (Randhawa) plays on this (Delhi Golf Club) course and if I was a betting man I would bet on Joyti. And Jeev (Milkha Singh) has also found some form,” Shiv told reporters.
“So I really won’t be surprised if there’s an Indian winner. A lot of the Indians are playing well and are in good form,” Shiv added.
He felt the Indian golfers would have an advantage as they have been playing without break for the last 12 months.
“For a lot of the European guys, they are coming out of the off season and this is one of first few events where they are trying to get into form. So from the Indian and Asian point of view, we have a bit of an advantage,” Shiv maintained.
On his own chances, Shiv said: “I’m feeling pretty good about my game. I found some form over the last couple of weeks. I played quite good for probably 90 percent of the tournament last week in Dubai. I’m happy with the way I’m swinging.”
Shiv, who missed the Indian Open last year as he was trying to get playing rights in the European Tour, also said that he was excited at the prospect of playing against some of the top golfers of the world.
This is a special year for him, having qualified for the British Open and performing well against some of the regulars on the European Tour – who will also be playing in the Indian Masters – and this will stand him in good stead.
He has also worked on his game, especially on the short game.
“My short game was sort of see sawing and I was having good and bad day with the putter. But I worked pretty hard with my short game during the season and that’s held me in good stead over the last couple of weeks.
“My putter seems to be working; hopefully it stays that way, but that’s really the area that I’ve been paying a lot of attention to,” Shiv added.