CHAWRASIA FEELS HE CAN QUALIFY FOR THE US OPEN
The Kolkata based golfer feels that he is in the best form of his life and says that he will be competing in a couple of tournaments in UK which will sharpen his game.
In the past, Shiv Shankar Chawrasia has scripted many miracles and is hopeful to script another fairy tale novella in the latest edition of the US Open golf tournament. The two time Indian Open champion will be attempting to qualify for the US Open when he will be participating in the qualifying event in England on May 29.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, SSP as he is called on the Tour, said that he is confident to make it to the top in the tournament, where 100 golfers would compete for top 12 slots . “There are about 12 slots for qualifying. About 100 golfers will be in the fray here and I feel I stand a good chance of qualifying,” said Chawrasia.
Apart from the qualifiers, Chawrasia will also be competing in the BMW PGA championships at Surrey in England. “I will be first playing in the BMW event in Surrey from May 25 to 28. Thereafter, I will be participating in the qualifying event from May 29,” he said.
Riding high on confidence Chawrasia believes that he is in a great form and stands a good chance of qualifying for the US Open. “This is my best chance to qualify for the US Open as I am in the best form of my life. Our game is totally dependent on the mind. I am in the right head space at the moment, so I have a good chance of making the grade,” he said.
“I am in good form. I have practised a lot and am in full flow. I am going to BMW Championship in England next week and that will be a sort of practice as well. It is obviously every golfer’s dream to play the Majors. I also have that in mind,” the golfer added. Interestingly,he has failed to qualify for any of the four golf majors in his career so far.
Chawrasia recently took part in the GolfSixes event in England where he paired up with S. Chikkarangappa but failed to produce good results. The Indian pair lost to England’s star pairing Andy Sullivan and Chris Wood in the opening match before finishing second best to the Netherlands and Denmark duos and bowing out.
“The format in England was alternate shot. It was a six-hole event three times so that it is holes at the end,” Chawrasia explained. “We played against England first. Then we played against Holland and Denmark both of which we lost. We had a good chance of winning against England but we made three putts in the last hole.”
“It was a very interesting format and felt passionate too carrying the national flag,” said Chawrasia, who will also play in the Nordea Masters after his England tryst. Chawrasia signed off by saying he is yet to receive Rs 30 lakh promised by the government towards preparation for the Rio Olympics held in August last year. “The process is still on. It’s a lengthy process. I have completed all the formalities... let’s see what happens now,” he said.