Sport

Els starts as favourite

— Photo: Sandeep Saxena

CONFIDENT: Jyoti Randhawa feels he has as good a chance as anybody in the Indian Masters golf tournament.

NEW DELHI: The long wait for the first European Tour golf event is over. Now it is time for some worthy performances in keeping with the star cast, the prize-money and the typically cold European weather in the Capital.

On form, ranking and reputation, World No. 4 Ernie Els will be the favourite to win the $2.5 million Emaar MGF Indian Masters golf when it tees off at the Delhi Golf Club on Thursday.

Although some of the big names from the European Tour will also be around, the chances of Jyoti Randhawa winning his fourth straight title at this venue cannot be ruled out.

Randhawa won the Indian Open titles in 2006 and 2007. In between, he claimed the AIS Open title with a record winning score of 22-under. Interestingly, Randhawa has won his last five events in India.

Since Randhawa has done well on the European Tour and rubbed shoulders with the best in the world, he is not the one to be overawed by the occasion.

“I think my chances are pretty fair. Golf is nobody’s game. If I can just go back and play my game and bring the best that I can, so I’m quite sure I’ll be right up there,” said Randhawa before predicting the winning score to be between 14 and 18 under.

Els is known for his precise driving but the “old-fashioned” course here does not encourage long drives. “I am using the new square driver today and I hit it really nicely on the back nine,” said the South African on Thursday.

The hardness of the greens is sure to leave them fast and that should suit Els. In any case, the key to success on this course lies in putting well.

The golfing skills of Els and the success-rate of Randhawa will be put to test in a field that has some serious contenders.

The creamy layer includes England’s David Howell, Wales’ Phillip Price, Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn, Jeev Milkha Singh, former Indian Open champion Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant, Arjun Atwal, Shiv Kapur, Thailand’s Nirat Chapchai, currently second on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, and 51-year-old two-time Major championships winner Mark O’Meara.

The ‘dark horse’ can emerge from the pack of Indian professionals. The home-grown pros like S.S.P. Chowrasia, Mukesh Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Harmeet Kahlon, Rahul Ganapathy and Vijay Kumar have reasons to hope for a respectable finish.

Irrespective of his form, Gaurav Ghei remains the eternal favourite here. Ghei, who grew up playing golf on this course, has several times in the past put behind his poor form to spring surprises.

There will also be a contest within the contest where the Indians will be trying to outdo each other for more reasons than one.

Individually, after gaining their present status, Jyoti, Jeev, Atwal and Shiv will be playing together for the first time at home. This should be motivation enough for them to give off their best.

At the same time, the ‘tigers’ of the domestic tour, Chowrasia, Ashok, Mukesh and an in-form Ganapathy will be keen to finish ahead of these regulars on the overseas Tours.

Collectively, the Indian professionals have a major point to prove.

The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), with the backing of the Asian Tour, had fought the European Tour authorities for an increased number of slots for its professionals for this event. After an uncertain phase spread over a series of meetings, a face-saving berth-sharing formula was reached.

Having gained 20 spots in the starting line-up of 120 professionals, the PGTI regulars will have to prove that they were indeed worthy of it by making the ‘cut’ in large numbers.

Indeed, this weekend offers a great opportunity to showcase Indian golf and golfers.

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