Kapur leads Indians at British Open qualifiers

SENTOSA (Singapore): Shiv Kapur was leading a group of nine Indians in a field of 77 players at The Open International Final Qualifying, staged to earn tickets to The British Open Championship in July.

The British Open Qualifier will be held at the Sentosa Golf Club over 36 holes and there will be four berths on offer from the qualifier at the Tanjong Course.

Kapur said he had special memories of last year's qualifiers as he made it to his first Major by capturing one of the coveted berths.

"I am looking forward to the qualifiers and feel good about the game. There have been times I have not done as well as I would like to this season, but I have also had some very good results like finishing second in Indonesia. I also put myself in good position in Abu Dhabi," said Kapur.

From an Indian viewpoint, Jeev Milkha Singh, who next month becomes the first Indian to play at the Augusta Masters, is already assured of being in the starting line-up for US Open, the British Open and the PGA Championships by virtue of having finished in top-50 of the 2006 season.

Many of the Indian players, who played in Motorola International Bintan last week, have hopped over to Singapore, which is less than an hour away for the qualifiers.

Apart from Kapur, Indians who have entered for the qualifiers in Singapore include Gaurav Ghei, who ended an 11-year wait with a triumph at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters last year.

Ghei was first Indian to qualify for The Open back in 1997.