Shiv Kapur warms up at home, one shot off lead
NEWDELHI: It bodes well, and Sunday could well be Shiv Kapur’s. Not since the Yeangder Heritage in April, which ended his title drought on the Asian Tour, has the build-up to a tournament been similar. A shot off the clubhouse lead on Day Two at the Panasonic Open, Shiv’s reasons for staying away from golf then were different though.
Strange as it may be, it was at the Panasonic Open in Japan that he contemplated leaving golf, which he had hoped would be his passage to the Olympics. After three straight missed cuts, preceded by ill-health, he couldn’t be blamed. Missing out in Japan, the clubs were untouched till the Wednesday in Chinese Taipei.
Torn between his love for golf and looking beyond his world, he headed to what would be a fateful week. Abstinence took pressure off, and after Friday’s round at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC), he could laugh. “Perhaps, I should do it often enough, tell myself no matter how big the occasion is, treat it as just another round of golf and you will be fine.”
Struck by dengue and then a relapse, Shiv came into this week with practice stretching over just 14 holes in a considerable span. But “doing the right things and getting the results”, the tempo hasn’t been lost, and goals have been set, starting with the 2020 Olympics.“if you have medium and long-term goals, it keeps you motivated.” That’s in golf; beyond it is playing father to threemonth-old daughter Veda.
Experiencing goose bumps while receiving the individual gold at the 2002 Busan Asian Games, Shiv wants to hear the national anthem once more in Tokyo. The talk among top pros on the Olympics being just another tournament can rest, as Shiv wants to be called an Olympian when he has finished playing.
“That mindset will change over time but for me standing there and receiving the medal …the Olympics would be ultimate,” said Shiv. The future will take care of itself, as he knows despite strategy “we can’t control the results at the end of the day”.
For now, it’s wrapping it up here at the DGC. Save the double bogey on the 3rd, there was little room for complaint, keeping in view that preparation for this week was far from ideal.
The pin positions on the back nine were tricky on Friday, but that’s what he’s trained for. What needs to be kept in mind is the lesson he picked up in Taipei. “The biggest challenge is staying out of your own way.”
If that can be achieved, it will be a gala Sunday for the Kapurs at their home course.