Kuala Lumpur: Indian star Shiv Kapur hopes to cap his season and end a home jinx by winning the Hero Indian Open which is celebrating its golden 50th anniversary next month.
The popular Indian has fond memories of the prestigious National Open and hopes he can finally achieve a dream victory on his home course at the Delhi Golf Club from November 7 to 10.
“The Hero Indian Open holds a special place in my heart and also in the hearts of the other Indian players. Hero has big plans on how to make it a very special event and I’m very excited. Personally if I can win the 50th edition of this event it will be the icing on the cake for a great season,” said Kapur.
The Hero Indian Open is expected to attract some of the top names in the region including India’s first Asian Tour number one Arjun Atwal and rising stars Gaganjeet Bhullar and Anirban Lahiri.
Kapur, whose lone Asian Tour win was in 2005 in Thailand, has enjoyed a solid season so far where he won one title in India followed by two other top-10s on the region’s premier Tour which is celebrating its 10th season this year.
The 31-year-old, currently ranked 14th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, has fond memories of the Hero Indian Open where he used to volunteer as a scorer when he was a junior golfer.
“One of my first recollections is being a scorer and a marker for Jyoti Randhawa and Gaurav Ghei when I was young. Walking around the course with these players and the gallery, it made me dream that one day I could be in this event and maybe win it,” he said.
“I think my fondest memory was when I was 15 and I won the low amateur at the Indian Open. When I turned professional, I wanted to be inside the ropes and now I’m living that dream,” added the Indian.
He added that the Hero Indian Open has been the springboard for many Indian players to achieve greater success on the Asian Tour. Jyoti Randhawa, a three-time Indian Open winner and Arjun Atwal have both gone on to win the Order of Merit in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
“If you date back to the early 1990s when Ali Sher won the event in 1991 and 1993, it really put Indian golf on the map. Before that it was the foreigners who came and dominated the event,” Kapur explained.
“Then it sort of opened up the floodgates to more Indian winners. Indian golf has really gone from strength-to-strength in the last 10 years,” he added.
