By IANS
Dubai : Shiv Kapur, currently contending for the Dubai Desert Classic tournament here has tipped Jyoti Randhawa as the favourite for the EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters at the Delhi Golf Club from Feb 7-10.
“It’s going to be great fun to play on home course and I am looking forward to it,” said a confident Kapur, who after missing the cut in Abu Dhabi Golf Championship did modestly well in Qatar. However he is in line for a top-10 finish in Dubai.
Shifting his focus to the Indian Masters, “A European Tour event coming to India is a big thing for our golf. It will provide Indian players a great opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best players in the world.”
“I am pretty confident of Indian players giving a good account of themselves. They know the course well and that certainly will be an advantage,” said Kapur who finished tied 47th in Qatar.
“If you ask me Jyoti could be the man to beat. He has won four to five times at the Delhi Golf Club and exactly knows what it takes to win there,” he said.
“If an Indian goes to win the event, it won’t be a surprise. It will be a reflection on the rising standards of our golf,” added Kapur.
Talking about the early part of the season, Kapur said: “It was a bit of shock that all three Indians in the field (the other two being Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa) failed to make it to the weekend in our first event of the year (in Abu Dhabi). Blame it on early season rust and too much food that we had during our break, we felt a bit rusty.”
“The rust is now out of the way. I have played well in Qatar Masters and the Dubai Desert Classic, something which shows I am striking the ball well and my rhythm is back,” said the Dubai-based Indian professional, who finished the third day’s proceedings in Dubai tied fifth at seven under par along with Tiger Woods.
“It would have been a dream-come-true kind of stuff if I had paired with Tiger, but I am still happy to finish on the same score as that of the world number one. Tiger is simply awesome,” said Kapur, who played with Germany’s Martin Kaymer in the third last group on the final day.
The EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters has attracted a strong line-up, spearheaded by Ernie Els, Thomas Bjorn and David Howell.
The Indian star cast is being led by Jeev Milkha Singh, who has already got an invitation to the Masters this year, besides Randhawa and Kapur.