Shiv Kapur
Miaoli, Chinese Taipei, April 30: Shiv
Kapur’s excruciatingly long wait for a second Asian Tour title finally ended at
the inaugural Yeangder Heritage on Sunday.
Kapur (71-70-67-64), who had won his previous and only
Asian Tour event in his rookie season back in 2005, came home the winner by two
shots at the National
Golf Country Club in Miaoli, Chinese Taipei, with a sensational bogey-free
final round of eight-under-64 that saw him end up with a total of 16-under-272.
Malaysian Gavin Green and Korean Yikeun Chang finished
joint runners-up at 14-under-274 at the US$300,000
event.
The 35-year-old Kapur, who began the day in tied third, two
off the lead, put together eight birdies in round four, including five on the
last seven holes, to register the tournament’s lowest single round score of 64
en route his victory.
Interestingly, Shiv birdied the par-five 13th hole for four consecutive
days. The 2002 Asian Games gold medallist also closed out the match in
style, holing a tricky seven feet
downhill birdie putt on the 18th.
Kapur, who had won two European Challenge Tour events in
2013, now has four international titles to his credit. His winner’s cheque of
US$54,000 from the Yeangder Heritage has pushed him up from 21st to 13th place in the 2017 Asian Tour Order of
Merit.
Shiv said, “This win means a lot to me. Honestly it
hasn’t sunk in yet because I’m still in a bit of a daze. It has been a
frustrating last couple of years so it is nice to be back where I belong. There
are so many good talents on the Asian Tour and it is getting harder and harder
to win each year.
“There is a certain calmness on the golf course. It think
that helped me and it also helped because I was not playing in the last group.
That gave me an opportunity to just go and make birdies. I looked at the
leaderboard on the 17th hole and I was already 15-under and two
ahead.
“I came close on 17 and hit a great drive and second shot
on the 18th hole. I had a downhill seven feet birdie putt on
the last and made that. I can look back and say I did this right but you need
some luck to win.”
In September last year, Kapur went for a liver surgery and
returned in mid-December after resting for three months. Before the surgery, he
lost his European Tour card.
Kapur added, “I really struggled last year. I came back
from a liver surgery in September and was lying on a hospital bed. It was
frustrating because you couldn’t play. Now I’ve come back after six months and
to win the way I did is satisfying. When you are away from the game, it gives
you doubts about yourself especially when things are not going your way. This
win comes at the right time.”
Kapur, who was named the Asian Tour Rookie of the Year in
2005, soon after winning his first Asian Tour title in December that year, said, “It has been a long time since I won
on the Asian Tour. It has been such a long wait but you tend to appreciate it
more. You will have questions and doubts from yourself and other people but I
answered those questions more to myself than anybody else with this win.
“After you haven’t won for so long, you might think that
the best is behind you. When I first won, I was in my early 20s as well and the
older guys were chasing me down. Now I’m the old guy! I played with Gavin Green
in the third round and I can’t talk enough about what a great player he is.
Today I played with two young Thai players so there is a lot of talent on the
Asian Tour.
“It is becoming harder and harder to win. The young kids
come into tournaments to win. They come through the ADT system and that’s such
a great platform for them to learn how to win. When they come out on the Asian
Tour, it is not a big surprise to them anymore.”
Congratulating Shiv on his well-deserved victory, Mr. Uttam
Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, “We at the PGTI congratulate Shiv for his win at
the Yeangder Heritage. The victory is a result of his dedication and
perseverance.We look forward to
seeing him win many more titles in the years to come.”
Sujjan Singh (67) and Himmat Rai (71) were the next best
Indians as they claimed tied 22nd at
five-under-283.
Among the other Indians in the field, Chikkarangappa (68)
finished tied 27th at
four-under-284, Khalin Joshi (70) bagged tied 39th at two-under-286, Rahil Gangjee (70)
was tied 52nd at
two-over-290 and Chiragh Kumar (77) ended tied 60th at five-over-293.
Shiv Kapur - 4
International Wins
Asian Tour
·
Volvo Masters of
Asia 2005
·
Yeangder Heritage
2017
European Challenge Tour
·
Gujarat Kensville
Challenge 2013 (Kensville G & CC)
·
Dubai Festival City
Challenge Tour Grand Final 2013
PGTI release
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