Showing posts with label Indian Open. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian Open. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Jeev Overlooked By Norman; Hero Honda Relieved!


Like we said, despair for one camp and joy for the other. Jeev has been overlooked by Greg Norman who chose to go with Ryo Ishikawa and Adam Scott as his two picks to complete the International team lineup for the Presidents Cup.

So now, provided Jeev doesn't pick up an injury and doesn't take a liking for the Madrid Masters, he is likely to play the Indian Open. With the 45-year-old tournament bumping up the prize money by 25 per cent, there is no reason why Jeev should miss the Open.

As for Greg Norman, we can understand picking Ryo Ishikawa, but Adam Scott?



Here's Adam Scott's performance in the last 15 tournaments, from the Barclays back till the Transitions Championship-:

T58--MC--MC--T51--MC--T4--T36--MC--T64--MC--MC--MC--MC--MC--MC

It adds up to one top-ten finish and ten missed cuts in his last 15 starts. That's one helluva punt, Mr Norman!

Aussie Golfer put up ten reasons why Norman may have picked Scott. Here are our favourites from that list-:

  • He thought he could teach him about dating a tennis player and tell him what love really means to them.
  • Robert Allenby threatened to quit if he didn't
  • He thought he had to make picks for the opposition team.
  • Anna Rawson wasn't eligible.



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Monday, September 7, 2009

Bitter Cheese In Switzerland


It was a pretty disappointing week for the Indians at the European Masters in Switzerland with no one managing to get into the top-10. Jyoti Randhawa emerged as the best Indian on display after he carded his second successive round of one-under 70 to finish tied for 32nd place.

Jeev Milkha Singh could have made a final-day charge but a run of poor holes laid to rest his hopes of a good finish and would definitely not have gone down well with Greg Norman, who is on the prowl for his two picks for the Presidents Cup. Jeev’s 74 meant that he finished 49th on the leaderboard. Shiv Kapur, fresh from his top-ten showing at Gleneagles, had a horrid weekend, with the double bogeys refusing to get off his back and was hovering around the bottom rungs of the leaderboard. Gaganjeet Bhullar unfortunately failed to make the cut this week.

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Everyone has been talking about Jeev’s great desire to be a part of the Presidents Cup but if Norman chooses not to pick him, it could well be a blessing in disguise. The dates of the Indian Open and the Presidents Cup clash this year, and if Jeev is chosen to represent the International team then he would have to forego the national open which may not be the best thing in the world. This is assuming that Jeev would give the Indian Open preference over the European Tour event that would take place that week.

Here at IGT, opinions are clearly divided and whatever the Shark decides on, it will bring joy to one camp and despair to the other.

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Sunday, August 23, 2009

With Bag And Baggage


Golf courses have taken the definition of a long ride from the busy city to some serene, albeit ridiculously out-of-the-way, oasis. The Indian Open, then, with its almost-permanent home at the Delhi Golf Club, was something we looked forward to with great enthusiasm. Where else could you expect to see a congregation of the region's finest without having to endure a long ride to nowhere.

But unfortunately, what was talked about in hushed tones has now been confirmed. The annual, week-long rite of the 'national open' will now have to proceed to DLF in Gurgaon. It is rather unfortunate because the history-rich course at DGC was the first-ever venue for the tournament when it started in 1964. And from then on, the course had played host to it each time Delhi held the event, except in the 2000 and 2001 editions. It was the pretty, but unacceptably remote Classic Golf Resort that played host those two years.

For the DGC, which decks out in its best finery each year with an almost festive ambience for the Asian Tour tournament, this is the second bit of bad news this year. Earlier in the year, in readiness for the Indian Masters, an elaborate reseeding programme had been undertaken. Then came the news that the European Tour tournament was off for the season.

The Arnold Palmer-designed DLF Golf & Country Club did host to the star-studdded Johnnie Walker Classic last year. But even back then, with Jyoti Randhawa in contention, the crowd was considerably thin as the final-round Sunday clashed with Sachin Tendulkar putting on a spectacular show at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

We guess it will be a while before golf is for the fans in India. What count, for now, are the corporate marquees and elaborate setups for the beer-guzzling 36-handicappers who have no idea what to do with their hefty bank balances.

But addicts we are and addicts we will be and when the second Thursday of October comes our way, we will make the pilgrimage to the 46th edition of the Indian Open. After all, we did go to the SAIL Open, didn't we?

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Thursday, July 2, 2009

A Rare Hole-in-one

As our aircraft fought its way through the monsoon clouds hanging low over the city of Pune, a sense of unease gripped the passengers. Not even Captain Collin James’ calm voice could fight off the mid-air turbulence.

But the rough treatment meted out to the jumbo jet was not close to what Emlyn Aubrey experienced as his flight headed from Pakistan towards Delhi.

20 years back, Emlyn, an American professional golfer embarked on his second trip to India to compete in the Indian Open to be played at the Delhi Golf Club. But no sooner had the flight taken off, he was greeted with a hole in the plane, or so goes the story. Narrating the incident to us, Emlyn says, “It happened on the way to Delhi in ’89. It wasn’t a “hole” but a separation between the wall and the floor. I could stick my whole hand in there. I saw daylight when the landing gear was down but thankfully it went away when the landing gear was raised for cruising.”

And how did he deal with the situation? “I remember covering the gap with my foot in hopes of maintaining cabin pressure. Silly, but true,” he answers.


And you think it’s rocket science?


The story had made its way across the Atlantic, and when he briefly flirted with the lead at the US Open later that year, the Chicago Tribune story read, “Emlyn Aubrey has seen snakes in the rough, wild monkeys in the trees and a hole in the bottom of an airplane at 25,000 feet. But none of his experiences on the Asian Tour could compare with the brief glimpse of his name atop the leader board in the 89th U.S. Open.”



But the dodgy flight is not his only connection to India. In 1994, Emlyn came back to India one last time and walked away with the Indian Open trophy at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club. Taking us back to his win, he says, “I had played there a few years earlier and I really liked the golf course. I just played well and ended up beating everybody that week. The champion’s party afterward was incredible: music, traditional dance and great food!”


Winning in Calcutta made the victory a little more special for him. “I think Royal Calcutta is the oldest golf course outside Great Britain. It is an honour to have played there,” he says.


His first impressions of India might not have been great but a visit to one special attraction was something that he cannot forget. “I am a bit adventurous, and once golf was done for the day, I was able to get out and sightsee. Of course no trip to India is complete without seeing the Taj Mahal. One of the best experiences I have ever had. If I had to choose one place to take my family, it would be there. To think it was built by hand and the materials they used… just mindblowing.”


Today, a 45-year-old Emlyn teaches golf at the Centernary College in Indiana. And the teacher would be more than happy to impart lessons to pupils from India.


But would he like to entertain thoughts of another flight from Pakistan to India? Well, the jury is still out on that one.

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Sunday, June 28, 2009

Slice Of '87

It came over a dish of delicious breadsticks -- by far the best thing to order at Papa John's -- the discussion on the connection between the American pizza company and the Indian Open. Oh yes, you read that right! Here's the story:

American Brian Tennyson, a former PGA Tour player, had spent a couple of seasons playing around in Asia. In 1987, Brian came to the Delhi Golf Club, and walked away with the then 24-year-old Indian Open trophy.

Unfortunately for him, an ill-timed neck injury followed soon after, as good as forcing him out of the sport. At Ball State University, Brian had roomed with a John Schnatter, who had now decided to begin a pizza chain. Schnatter asked his old friend to join him in the still-young enterprise. Tennyson began in 1992 with owning stores, and slowly made his way up till he was vice-president for strategic planning, and then head of investor relations. Clearly, the stable head and firm feet had followed him from the golf course to the Papa John's boardroom.

Brian quit entrepreneurship to attempt a golf comeback in 1995, but that didn't quite work out, and so he went back to business. These days Brian helps run a marketing company, a pet magazine, and a vehicle repair business.

Brian takes us back to his last-day runaway win in '87. "I was putting poorly coming into that week, even though I had a win and a couple of other top tens in the previous weeks," Brian tells us. "So I spent a lot of time on it and it paid off. Delhi golf club was very demanding and extremely tight off the tee which played right into my strength, which was ball striking. I loved the course and thought I could win. I was in the next to last group the final day and took the lead somewhere around the 12th or 13th hole. Information was all by word of mouth. A key shot was on, I believe, the 16th, a long par four where I hit a terrific 3-iron to about 15 feet. On the 18th fairway, a good friend at the time, European Tour player Jean Francois Remesy, came and told me I had a three-shot lead, and I relaxed," he says.

The story from the pro-am had us even more excited. Brian says, "In the pro-am, I played with a 14-year-old boy who was a very good young player. It turned out to be Daniel Chopra. In my first event on the 1995 circuit I was paired with him in the third round and he reminded me about it. It made me feel old!"

That was also a time when sports equipment import duty was a huge amount, and so good-quality golf balls and clubs were a scarce commodity. "I was very impressed with the Delhi Golf Club and thought it was one of the best we played on the tour that year. But I believe there was some sort of ban on imports and most of the Indian players were using old or second-hand equipment," says Brian.

Brian also remembers other players he played with on the Asian circuit back then, with the current Asian Tour chairman Kyi Hla Han being one of them. "Han was a good friend back then," Brian says. "We hung out and played a lot of rounds together. Some others on the tour then were Jeff Maggert, Billy Ray Brown, TC Chen and TM Chen. I also played with Isao Aoki and Jumbo Ozaki while on the Asian Tour in 1987 and subsequently on the US PGA Tour as well."

The win was special. "It was my second win in the first five Asian Tour events that year and it was a terrific thrill. The small metal trophy I received, sits on a shelf in my family room," Brian says.
We certainly do hope that our golfer-turned-entrepreneur is in India for the Silver Jubilee celebrations in three years from now.

Image courtesy: www.papajohns.com

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