Tuesday preview: What they said #HIO2018
Shiv Kapur (Ind)
To me, this is the most important tournament outside the Majors. Winning their National Open is the highlight of anyone’s career. And, to be able to do it in a city where I grew up, with a title sponsor and golf club that has supported me in my career will be very special.
Winning in India last year and getting the monkey off my back is nice. Now, I can free-wheel a bit more rather than having this pressure of not having won a tournament for a long time.
My form is pretty good. I managed to put myself in Singapore and Malaysia, but I didn’t get the job done over the weekend. I’m glad to be able to ride on the momentum of winning three times in 2017 into 2018. You have to keep expectations in check. My goal this year is to try to be a better golfer in 2018 compared to last year. If I feel that I’m improving my game and contending regularly, my goals are achieved even if I have no wins.
It’s a tough golf course here, but it’s not unfair. Some of the changes here (compared to last year) has actually made it easier when it comes to decision making. For instance, at the 15th, this year, we won’t be able to aim for the green. We will all be laying up at the same spot. Similarly, at the 17th, lengthening means you can’t aim to hit your ball to the other side of the fairway. Lengthening a golf course doesn’t always make it harder.
After the birth of my daughter, my outlook on life has changed. Golf used to be my life. Now, it is part of my life. I would have driven straight to the club this morning after attending a wedding, but I opted to head home, just to see my daughter and then drive to the club. I practice more efficiently these days. And after seeing my daughter smile, it doesn’t matter if I had a bad day.
I’m going to play more attacking this year, compared to last year. You tend to be defensive when you think that it is a tough golf course. If you attack the golf course, you may get a few bogeys, but you may get some birdies as well. If you play defensively, you hit a bunch of pars and if a big number hits you, it’ll be hard to recover.
The field is fantastic. It’s good to see Indians being mentioned as contenders. There are plenty of young talents here as well. The international field is very strong as well, so the Indians will find it difficult to keep “retain” the title.
The way Shubhankar (Shankar) handles himself, even when things aren’t going his way, is well beyond his years. His game is very well rounded and he has the temperament to back it up. His 62 in Malaysia is one of the best final rounds in history. The world is at his feet.
Chikkarangappa S. of India
Chikkarangappa S. (Ind)
Of course, winning at home will always be special. The Indian Open means a lot to me and I’m sure for all the Indian players as well, as it is our National Open. It is our dream to have an Indian Open win under our belt and it will be a very proud moment for me if I can get my first Asian Tour win here at the Hero Indian Open.
I have watched this tournament as a junior golfer. I’ve seen this tournament since I was a 12-year-old kid and since then, I’ve always dreamt of playing in the tournament. Fortunately, I had the opportunity three years later when I was 15 years old. Since then, I have played in almost every single Indian Open. The experience has been great. I’ve learned a lot about my game and it has helped me move ahead in my career.
The course is one of the toughest I have played in my career. Anything, it could be your tee shot or wedge play, has to be absolutely 100 per cent. If you miss your shots, you will be punished. This week is going to be really tough for every single player out there.
I love golf courses like these. It suits my game. It’s funky, requires tricky shots. It brings about plenty of positivity. Length-wise, sure, it’s pretty long, but I’ll just have to manage it.
Poom Saksansin of Thailand
Poom Saksansin (Tha)
I am here in India after a 19-hour journey from New Zealand. But, I’m good to go. In fact, I feel reinvigorated mentally.
The golf course here has an engaging layout but is also very challenging. I’m sure not sure what will happen here. I don’t hit long, so I cannot play aggressively. Perhaps, this approach will help me score well at the Hero Indian Open.
Right now, I’m still tweaking my swing. I’m also looking to rediscover myself at this tournament.
Jason Norris (Rsa)
I’m quite happy with how I’ve started the year. I’m just looking forward to the rest of the season. A win or two, starting with the Hero Indian Open, will be nice.
The course here is designed by my fellow countryman Gary Player. It has a modern design, it is interesting and it has a good layout. I’m looking forward to playing on it. The course has plenty of risk-and-reward elements and it all depends on what your game plan is. I’ll try to figure out something that works and stick to the plan.
I’ll approach the tournament like any other tournaments. I’ve been hitting the ball quite well, so, I’ll try to trust myself and have a bit of fun out there.
Andrew Johnston of England
Andrew Johnston (Eng)
It’s been a bit of a frustrating couple of weeks. I had a lesson the first week I was home, I was trying to gear up to practice last week so I haven’t really done too much. I’ve spent a bit of time in the gym, so I’ve been looking forward to getting back out in the sun, getting some practice done in the sun this afternoon and tomorrow to get ready for this week.
The last four or five years have been crazy. To start off at the little golf course I played when I was a kid, and to have ended up playing Majors, playing European Tour and a bit on the PGA Tour as well, it has been absolutely crazy. Every time I step on the tee and people are shouting “Beeeef”, it still amazes me, because I would never have expected something like that to happen. It’s been insane.
Definitely, I am trying to win a tournament again. Obviously, I want to be in the top 60 to play in the final Race to Dubai tournaments. I played well at the start of the year so I’ve just got to keep that going and keep working hard, because I’ve played really well the first couple of months.
Chris Wood (Eng)
It’s my first time in India. It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to come to. I arrived late last night and my first experience this morning coming to the course was turning into the oncoming traffic, which we don’t do at home. That will be something that I will get used to this week.
Obviously, there are some strong players here this week. We’ve got the Ryder Cup captain playing and we’ve got my Ryder Cup captain, Darren Clarke, from when I played a couple of years ago. There’s also Joost Luiten, who beat me in Oman. Obviously, your new homegrown hero (Shubhankar Sharma), which is great for the tournament. He’s had a great start to the year and featured a lot last week in Mexico, so it’s great for the tournament for him to be coming straight back and playing here.
- Kieran Pratt of Australia.
Wade Ormsby (Aus) – First round 67 (-5)
I played well. Anytime you can shoot under-par on this golf course, I’ll be pretty happy. This course suits my game. Given the size of the fairways, I can’t hit it too far so I’ve to try to hit as many fairways as I can so I always look forward to coming here so that I can get a chance to move up to the top. I started my season in the Avantha Masters and didn’t do as well as I would like to but I’ve been playing well since. I guess it’ll be sooner or later before I make my breakthrough.
Kieran Pratt (Aus) – First round 67 (-5)
This is my best round ever at Delhi Golf Club and obviously I’m happy. Everything worked for me today. I holed a lot of putts and hit several good shots. I played the par fives pretty well and I guess that was the key today. I’ve been building a lot of confidence with my ball-striking and that’s pretty important around the Delhi Golf Club. The way I’ve played since the start of the season was not to my liking. It has been a while since my last win and you get that itch where you want to win again. I’ve always been like that and I’ve always wanted to win golf tournaments and hopefully it’ll be this week again.
Lam Chih Bing (Sin) – First round 67 (-5)
It wasn’t easy out there. It was the most windy round that I’ve ever played in at Delhi Golf Club. The winds were swirling and I got lucky quite a few times today. This is my best score at Delhi Golf Club. I’ve been coming here for so many years and I’ve played so many tournaments out here, so much so that I’ve now learnt how to manage my way around this golf course very well. Losing my Tour card last season was disappointing but I hope to make it up this season with performances like this.
S.S.P.Chowrasia (Ind) – First round 69 (-3)
I am happy with the way things are, though I could have had a better score today. I played quite well and had some long putts, like the 25-footer on the fourth. I started with a birdie from 10 feet on first. I had six birdies overall, but also gave away three bogeys. On the eighth, the ball was stuck on the slope of the bunker and on the 10th hole, I three-putted. On the 16th, I went off to the right and had to get back to fairway with a lay-up. The conditions were not all that easy. There was wind on almost all holes and one had to be careful off the tee. The greens were excellent, though I three-putted once. It has been a fair season, though the last two weeks were not so great. But I have been making cuts and I need to consolidate. But I feel I am on the right direction.
New Delhi, April 5: Former Asian Tour executive Gerry Norquist of the United States only learnt of his entry into this week’s US$300,000 Panasonic Open India at the eleventh hour.
The American, who left the corporate boardroom to return to competitive golf, opened his campaign with a one-under-par 71 and is enjoying one of his best spells at the Delhi Golf Club this week.
“I do all my work best last-minute! The more I prepare, the worse I play. It’s funny how over the last 10 years of my career, I would try to put in the extra effort and really go work on the range and I didn’t see the results,” said the American.
“But there were a few events where I wasn’t able to play a practice round for whatever circumstances, I showed up and it took the expectations off me and you play a bit more relaxed,” added the 50-year-old.
Winning the Malaysian Open in 1999 was the highlight of Norquist’s illustrious playing career and he is hoping to roll back the years and set the stage alight again.
“Overall it was a good round. I just hit a few goofy shots which I’m not very happy with when the ball was teed up. If they were in bad lies or in the divots, then I would understand but they were tee shots so I sort of scratched my head and other than that, I did my best to get the ball around,” said Norquist who marked his card with three birdies against two bogeys.
Life for the American today revolves around the training room where he maps out strategy and training regime for Thai players under his charge.
While he is happy with his day job, Norquist is also looking forward to reviving his glory days on the Senior Tour when he gets his opportunity.
“I’m the national coach of Thailand and I love what I’m doing. It has been almost three years since I start my stint with them and I’m loving it. It was a change from the corporate boardroom as it takes the focus off yourself and place that focus onto others,” said Norquist.
“I still want to play senior Tour golf. I’ve reinvigorated my career and I’m looking forward to playing on the European Senior Tour. I see myself continuing along those lines,” added Norquist.
The worldwide appeal of the Asian Tour stars and the rich heritage associated with India will be showcased live throughout four days of broadcasts of the Panasonic Open India.
Asian Tour Media will beam the event to over 200 countries and 650 million homes across the Live, Highlights, Magazine programmes and via the additional exposure generated by Golfing World.
The top three players of the Panasonic Open India will also be extended invitations to the Asia Pacific Panasonic Open, an event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation, which will be held in Osaka, Japan this September.
Ends.
About the Panasonic Open India 2013
The Panasonic Open India, sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), will return for its third edition from April 4 to April 7. Local hero Digvijay Singh will defend the title at the US$300,000 event held at the Delhi Golf Club. The Asian Tour event will be title sponsored by Panasonic India Pte Ltd and supported by Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism and the Government of India. The Tournament will be played once again at the Host Venue Delhi Golf Club. Other sponsors include. Homestead (Platinum Sponsor) Crowne Plaza Today New Delhi Okhla (Official Hotel), Bentbrass (Official Apparel), Srixon (Official Ball), 4moles.com (Digital Media sponsor), GolfPlus Monthly (Magazine sponsor) and Inetol Headwear. The tournament is organized and promoted by the Asian Tour. Get the latest news and tournament information on www.wp-asiantour.ocs-sport.com and www.4moles.com. You can also follow us on www.facebook.com/asiantourgolf and www.twitter.com/asiantourgolf.
About Panasonic India
Panasonic makes available in India its wide range of consumer electronics and home appliances like LCD & Plasma TVs, DVD players, home theatre systems, cameras, camcorders, car audio systems, air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, microwave ovens, automatic cookers, vacuum cleaners and the like. The Company has a workforce of about 12,650 in India and estimated to do a turnover of Rs 10,000 crore in FY 2012. For more information on the company and the Panasonic brand in India, please visit http://panasonic.co.in.
About the Asian Tour
In 2013, the Asian Tour will celebrate a momentous milestone with its 10th season. As the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour leads the development of golf across the region, enhancing the careers of its members while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game. The Asian Tour, through its membership of the International Federation of PGA Tours, is the only recognised pan-Asian professional golf tour in Asia. This unique feature positions the Asian Tour at the pinnacle of professional golf in Asia; providing its events with Official World Ranking status. Tour Partners include Abacus (Official Apparel Partner), BlackBerry (Official Communications Partner), Canon (Official Imaging Partner), Inetol Headwear (Official Headwear Supplier), Saxo Capital Markets (Official Statistics Partner), Singha Beer (Official Beer), Srixon (Official Ball), Starwood Hotels and Resorts (Official Hotels and Resorts) and Rolex (Official Timekeeper). The Asian Tour has offices in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Also, visit us at www.wp-asiantour.ocs-sport.com, www.facebook.com/asiantourgolf, www.twitter.com/asiantourgolf, www.youtube.com/theasiantour and www.weibo.com/asiantourgolf.
Sentosa, Singapore, March 5: Here are five interesting facts you need to know about the 2018 ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open, won by Daniel Nisbet of Australia on Sunday.
- 2018 ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open champion Daniel Nisbet first came to Queenstown as a caddy in 2010 and he turned professional in 2012.
- Nisbet’s wife is also a fellow golf professional while his coach, Richard Woodhouse was named as the 2016 Australia PGA Coach of the Year.
- First shot, first ace made. Japanese amateur Shoukun Yamashita has made the perfect start to the ISPS Handa New Zealand Open when he holed out with his first very shot of the day at The Hills.
- The ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open saw a host of celebrities stepping up to the tee. They include Double Olympic Champion and eight-time World Champion rower Eric Murray, World Rally Championship Hyundai driver Hayden Paddon, former double international Jeff Wilson, New Zealand cricket captain Stephen Fleming, Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting, former England cricket star all-rounder Sir Ian Botham, Japan baseball legend Masumi Kuwata and Australia’s Logie Award winning actress and television personality Kerri-Anne Kennerley.
- There were no lack of activities and functions during the ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open week. From school visits to clinics conducted by Steve Williams, parties and Lake Tours, there was something to keep everyone occupied during the week.
Queenstown, New Zealand, March 4: Australia’s Daniel Nisbet staged an amazing comeback by overturning a six-shot deficit to clinch a deserving victory with a final round nine-under-par 62 at the ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open on Sunday.
Overnight leader Terry Pilkadaris of Australia started out the day with a five-shot lead but could not extend his advantage further as his putting touch eluded him on the day that matters most at Millbrook Resort.
Pilkadaris only had one birdie on 11 to show for on his card while Nisbet was simply in his element as he marked his card with six birdies and one eagle to cap his second professional win in stunning fashion.
Nisbet got off to a quick start with a birdie on the second hole. He continued his birdie run on holes four and six again to turn in 32. An eagle-three on 10 then soared him further up the leaderboard, closing the gap with Pilkadaris, who eventually settled for a second-place finish.
Nisbet then stormed home with four birdies in his closing five holes to compile a winning total of 27-under-par 258.
American Jarin Todd closed with a 66 to finish five shots back in third place on his own while compatriot and Asian Tour rookie Kurt Kitayama posted a 65 to share fourth place on 264 with Australians David Bransdon (67) and Callan O’Reilly (69).
.JPG)
Did you know?
- Terry Pilkadaris first ventured to Asia in 2002 and finished second in Qualifying School.
- He broke through on the Asian Tour when he won back-to-back titles at the Crowne Plaza Open and Sanya Open in China in 2004.
- Pilkadaris added his third Asian Tour title when he won the 2005 Brunei Open and has made two appearances at the Open Championship in 2007 and 2009.
- Daniel Nisbet missed the cut at the ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open last year after rounds of 73 and 68.
- Nisbet came to Queenstown as a caddy in 2010 and he turned professional in 2012. The Australian went on to record his first professional victory in Hong Kong in 2016.
- Nisbet’s home course is at Caboolture Golf Club in Queensland, Australia which is also the home course for Rod Pampling.
- Nisbet’s wife is also a fellow golf professional while his coach, Richard Woodhouse was named as the 2016 Australia PGA Coach of the Year.
- Jarin Todd posted two top-10s at the Shinhan Donghae Open and Resorts World Manila Masters in 2017. He ended the year in 49th place on the Order of Merit.
- Todd went to the Asian Tour Qualifying School in 2014, 2015 and 2017. He finished inside the top-40 twice in 2014 and 2017.
- Kurt Kitayama finished third at the Asian Tour Qualifying School in January and went on to clinch his first Asian Tour Development Tour (ADT) win in Malaysia the same month.
- Kitayama spent two years playing on the Web.com Tour in the United States.
- He lives in California and he went to school at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
- Kitayama is ethnically Japanese but he doesn’t speak the language.
Players’ Quotes:
Daniel Nisbet (Aus), Final Round 62 (-9), Total 258 (-27)
The plan today was to be aggressive like I had been for the previous three days. I started roughly yesterday and wanted to get out of the gates better and I managed to do that. I held a good putt on the second hole which gave me a bit of a kick-start.
I knew Terry was playing well yesterday and thought he would continue to play well. I was surprised when I saw we were almost level. When I held the putt for eagle on 10 I saw the board on 11 and then I held a good putt on 11 as well.
I knew it was tight but I thought I would need a really good finish. I thought I would have to hold that par putt on the 18th to win and make him birdie. I didn’t know he had parred 17. I am happy now that I went for birdie on 17. It was a bit of relief.
(On beating Kel Nagle’s record win of 26 under) We have some great family ties with Kel Nagle. One of my neighbours who recently passed was a great field with Kel and they kept him update with my very young junior golf. Uit is a surreal thing to be put up against him and beat his record when there is so much extended family history with him.
It is a great feeling and hard to put into words. I took two months off at the end of last year and miss one event for my mate’s wedding which missed one of our bigger events.
We had the best possible off season. We spent some time re-evaluating and figuring out where we needed to be.
That stretch 14, 15 and 16 are short holes but the wind kicked up a bit. The tee shot I hit off 17 was important. I knew I was in the hunt but needed to make birdie at worst and hit one of the best drives all week and hit 5 iron to the back of the green. Those two shots in there are replaying in my head.
I holed a 10-feet putt yesterday for eagle on 10. I didn’t have a great line today from the rough but I dug it out, it came out well, kept tracking and the putt somehow got to the hole and went in. I didn’t know I had eagled it two days in a row. A putt that long gets you pretty pumped up at that stage of the tournament.
What this leads to in the future I don’t know. We just want to do the same thing. It is working. Hopefully I get a few more starts out of this win.
Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) – Final round 70 (-1), Total 260 (-25)
I didn’t make enough birdies, it’s as simple as that. I didn’t make any mistakes, just didn’t hole the 10 footers that I had been making and then I got to 16 and I saw that Danny had been playing really well.
The length on the 16th and 17th holes weren’t to my favour there. He can get greenside and easy up and down whereas I can’t. Seventeen I just got in the fairway trap and then it was just a lay-up and it wasn’t a good enough wedge shot in.
At the start of the week if you’d said I shoot 25 under, you’d be like ‘yeah I’ll take that’. It’s disappointing not to win, but 62 to beat you, it’s one of those things. I’ve had a run of that. Michael Wright hit it out of the water on 17 at The Vines one year. Matthew Griffin holed a 40-footer up a tier to beat me in the playoff. That’s golf, I guess you’ve got to have your bounces, but it didn’t happen.
I wasn’t too bad. I didn’t eat on the course. I just kept putting myself in the right spots to make the putts but I kept having downhillers and curling putts and there was nothing I could have a good rattle at except for 11 and I made it. I thought ‘ok, we’ll get a bit of momentum here’, A couple of shots just weren’t close enough, especially coming in 16, 17. You hit them to 12-15 feet and it’s just not good enough with a wedge in your hand.
It just seemed like it was going to turn a lot right to left and I was a little bit tentative. Fifteen, I just needed a few more yards with a six iron into it. Sixteen, I couldn’t get it on the green so I went left, seven out of 10 wedge and I had about 12 feet. Again, I had a downhill left to right curler. Under the circumstances you are trying to make birdie.
All hats off to Danny, I mean 62 to win, it’s amazing, that’s great golf. They all sting. I’ve had a bunch of them now. I think this is number seven of runner-ups, but I didn’t hand it to him, he went out and took it and all hats off to him for that.
On a five-shot lead, you know with good weather conditions that someone is going to go low. I thought I plotted my way around the course really well, gave myself the chances, I just didn’t hole the putts.
Gave myself a good birdie putt on six, and then again on eight and didn’t take them. I was hitting good shots so I just had to be patient, birdied 11 and then 12 I was just trying to get it up the left-hand side but I just pulled it a little bit.
Anything can happen with golf, things can turn around really quickly. Even when we were tied, I knew he could get home on 16 and 17 so I knew I had to wedge it well and then anything could happen. Never panicking, but on a golf course when you are walking out with a lead like that you have a bull’s eye on your back and everyone is having a go. Daniel stepped up and had a crack at it, and all credits to him.
Kurt Kitayama (Usa) – Final round Six-under-par 65, Total 264 (-21)
I’ve been playing really well. I’m hitting the ball so much better too and things have been going well. I’m really pleased my result this week has given me a spot in India next week and I’m really looking forward to playing well again.
I played all the par-fives really well this week and I gave myself lots of eagle looks and birdie opportunities. I’m enjoying my time in Asia as I get to travel the world a little bit and it’s a whole new experience for me right now.
Jarin Todd (Usa) – Final round Four-under-par 67, Total 264 (-21)
It has been an amazing week for me and I couldn’t have asked for me. It’s really good to see myself playing well, finishing inside top-five and knowing my game is in the right place. I’ve been striking the ball well all week and I hope to bring all these good aspects of my game over to India next week.
Pavit Tangkamolprasert (Tha) – Final round Four-under-par 67, Total 270 (-15)
I’m quite happy with how I’ve played over the weekend here in Queenstown. I’m very surprised with the scoring this week. The cut was seven-under which is the lowest on record. The standard of golf here is very high so I’m very happy to be able to make the cut this week.
My winner’s exemption will end this year and I need a good season. I’m happy I managed to get one here this week. I have not felt more confidence about my game as I’ve been making several good shots, especially with my driver. Travelling to New Delhi from here is going to be tough.
I’ll be heading to Melbourne tonight before transiting in Bangkok and then flying to New Delhi. I did not play well there last year and I want to take revenge next week. I’m confident and I think I’ve a good chance.
Ends.
About Asian Tour
As the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour leads the development of golf across the region, enhancing the careers of its members while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game. The Asian Tour, through its membership of the International Federation of PGA Tours, is the only recognised pan-Asian professional golf tour in Asia. This unique feature positions the Asian Tour at the pinnacle of professional golf in Asia; providing its events with Official World Ranking status. Tour Partners include Rolex (Official Timekeeper), Panasonic (Official Consumer Electronics), Habitat for Humanity (Official Sustainable Development Partner), ECCO (Official Footwear Sponsor), Titleist and FootJoy (Official Web Partner), Bloomberg TV (Official International Media Partner), Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese (Official International Media Partner), Wall Street Journal (Official International Media Partner) and Sentosa in Singapore which is the Home of the Asian Tour which also has an office in Kuala Lumpur.
Please visit us at:
www.wp-asiantour.ocs-sport.com
www.facebook.com/asiantourgolf
Recent Comments