Next swinger on the greens

Shiv Kapur is our man of the moment—young, ambitious, and with a string of victories behind him. He appears set to play his way into the US PGA tour

By V Krishnaswamy

The gap that seemed to exist between the big three of Indian golf—Arjun Atwal, Jyoti Randhawa and Jeev Milkha Singh—and the rest has, for some time, been fairly big. The rest sparkled alright, but only once in a while.

But now the big three have company in the form of Shiv Kapur. It is not just the win that he secured at the Volvo Masters of Asia that puts him in the higher category, but the level of performance and the maturity he has shown as he goes about his job, in what is his only his second season as a pro.

A string of Top-10s culminated with the Volvo Masters win in Bangkok. And, now, in the new season, he again has some very good results. If, in 2005, he showed his mettle in fields comprising Asian Tour players, this year he has begun making his presence felt in fields that have included top Japanese and European stars, and some Americans, too.

There was the 13th place finish in the Okinawa Open, joint-sanctioned by Japan and Asian Tours; that was followed by modest finishes in Abu Dhabi and Qatar in tied 45th and 33rd. The placing may have been modest, but during the four days, he showed ample promise with some blistering rounds of five and six-under cards.

Then came the tied 12th place in the star-studded Johnnie Walker Classic, and his showing elicited praise from a legend like Fred Couples.

Former Masters winner Couples played the first two rounds with Kapur during which the Indian shot 68 and 71. Couples was so impressed with Kapur's ability that he said the Indian reminded him of Ryder Cup star Justin Leonard. He predicted that Kapur had the game to qualify for the US PGA Tour, an opinion shared by Robert Allenby, one of Australia's greats.

"Shiv knows how to play golf," says Couples. "He's got his future ahead of him. I like his temperament. He hits the ball really solid. He's not long, he's not short. He's like Justin Leonard. He is really, really good. I like the way he plays. I think he will do really well," he says, adding that the Indian will eventually play his way into the US PGA Tour.

Allenby validates that. "Shiv's a very good golfer, especially with the fact that he still very young. He's got a solid game, keeps the ball in play and is a good putter. He's good enough to play on the US PGA Tour, and it's just a matter of whether he wants to play his way there. I'm pretty impressed with him," says Allenby, with whom Kapur played the last round.

Kapur admits that he has learnt from playing with such great players. "I've learned a lot. Playing with Allenby, who shot 66 in the last round in Perth, was fantastic. He finished birdie, eagle and he kept fighting till the very end. They (the top players) have fantastic short games. There is so much to learn from them, the way they manage their games and the composure," says Kapur.
There is a certain maturity, which goes far beyond his 24 years. He has risen fast, but step by step. It has not been an overnight rise. And, most importantly, Kapur has his feet firmly planted on the greens.

A glittering amateur career was capped with the Asian Games Gold Medal at Busan in Korea in 2002. Then followed the completion of college in Purdue, US. "I would have turned pro there and then, but my father insisted that I complete my degree. In retrospect, he was right, for many sportsmen have suffered in later years of their life after sport," says Kapur.

But no sooner had he finished college than he turned pro and played the Indian Tour. And, within weeks, he had logged his first win. He won once more and finished in the Top-3 at numerous other places.

He has been the only Indian in the past two years (2005 and 2006) to make it inside Top-40 of the Asian Tour Qualifying School. His 10th place there, and a few good performances, earned him a lot of start. But the first half of the year on Asian Tour was particularly disappointing for Kapur.
The cut that he missed in the $2 million Singapore Open in September was really the time he started having doubts—which were, thankfully, banished within days. And then began a superb streak, which saw him turn in a string of Top-10 performances, including a second position, following a loss in a tie-breaker to an amateur.

"I looked at all that as a learning experience. The Singapore Open, the play-off loss in Double A International, and all other mistakes," says Kapur. His statement shows a lot of maturity and, in some senses, helped him keep his nerves when he beat back the challenge of the much-more established Randhawa, who was also the defending champion at Volvo Masters. All this resulted, incidentally, in a healthy bank balance, which totalled nearly a quarter of a million dollars after the very first year on pro golf on the Asian Tour.

But, says Kapur, "It's not about the money, it is about improving further and doing well at higher levels. It is always easy to get satisfied and sit back and make no further progress. I see European and US PGA Tours ahead for myself. And who knows, maybe a Major."

Winning a title as big as the Volvo Masters might seem like big success coming a little too early. But Kapur sees that only as a beginning. "I have become a member of European Tour and, hopefully, I will gain a full card for 2007 and also try for the US Tour at the US Qualifying School. The US is my ultimate goal and, then, a title there and hopefully a Major," he says with a smile.
In 2004, he came close to playing in the US Open as an amateur. He came through the local qualifiers, finished third in the sectionals and became the first alternate. He came to Shinecock hoping he would get in, in case of a withdrawal. But that didn't happen.

He recalls, "I was allowed to practice on the range and saw guys like Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples and the rest. I felt I belonged and hoped to be there someday. That experience of trying to make the US Open will come good later." The previous month, at Perth in the Johnnie Walker Classic, Kapur played with Couples, impressing him no end. Only the discerning will realise that despite his lack of years, his success has been steady, with no sharps ups or downs. This is a player destined for bigger stages and greater laurels. It would be a wise to keep an eye on him, for he has only just about begun to flower.