Indian star Jyoti Randhawa is hoping to maintain a terrific winning streak at home when he competes in the SAIL Open in New Delhi, India, starting on Wednesday.
Randhawa, one of the finest players to emerge from the sub-continent where he was Asia's number one in 2002, has won five of his eight Asian Tour victories on home soil and a return to the Classic Golf Resort this week will only serve to boost his confidence.
Winner of the Singha Thailand Open two weeks ago, the 37-year-old claimed the first of his three Hero Honda Indian Open titles at the Classic course in 2000 and he feels another victory is within his grasp.
"Anytime I'm in India I have a good chance. I've got a great record back home," said Randhawa.
"The course is very near to my home. That's where I won my first Indian Open title. I have a lot of good memories of the golf course which is a great track.
"Length of the tees will be beneficial as there are a lot of long par fours and par fives. If you are long enough, you can do some damage. I remember I putted really well in 2000 when I won there. I was hitting the ball long, so it was fun then."
He will be riding on his new mantra of staying totally relaxed during the week of the SAIL Open, which is celebrating its second edition and is the sixth leg of this season's Asian Tour.
In Thailand, Randhawa spent a lot of time scuba diving at the world-renowned islands near Phuket and credited his new approach for his first victory in nearly two years. He said he has been guilty of being too rigid during a tournament week.
"It's great to be home as you get to sleep in your own bed. I'll be riding on my bike to the golf course every day and I'm looking some trap shooting and playing golf as well.
"I've been playing decent in recent week. I'm just trying to get the edges rounded in my game and it's a work in progress," said Randhawa.
Other top names in this week's field include three-time Asian Tour winner Gaurav Ghei of India, former Volvo Masters of Asia champion Shiv Kapur, Digvijay Singh and rising talent Gaganjeet Bhullar.
Thai star Thaworn Wiratchant will be looking to match countryman's Thongchai Jaidee's 11th career wins while Singapore's Lam Chih Bing will also be amongst those tipped to contend at the Classic Golf Resort.
Source: Asian Tour
(China.org.cn March 19, 2009)
