Gaurav Ghei is all set for a new challenge as he makes his debut at the UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship starting Thursday.
TOKYO: Riding on a wave of success with a win and two top-10 finishes this season, Gaurav Ghei is all set for a new challenge as he makes his debut at the UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship starting Thursday.
Ghei will start his Japan sojourn at the Shishido Hills Country Club, located about 90 minutes northeast of Tokyo and rated as one of the toughest on the Japan Tour.
"It is a fantastic course and it is in immaculate condition. It is going to be a great test of golf and I think the guy who wins this week will be absolutely be in control of all aspects of his game.
"It is really long and you really have to drive the ball well. If you miss the fairway you are going to have a tough time even making bogeys because the rough is so thick. Even if you hit the fairways you will have some testing second shots," Ghei said.
The Delhi-golfer admitted that it would not be easy to sink in birdies here and he would be aiming to keep things steady by focussing on his driving.
"I am looking forward to it though. I have been driving the ball well, so hopefully I can continue to drive the ball well this week and just keep it in play and keep making pars. It is going to be tough making birdies out here.
"Visually it is also a bit intimidating when you are standing on the tee and looking at these tight fairways and thick rough. It is going to be a good challenge mentally also, just focusing on going through with your shot and not focusing on all the trouble," he said.
Currently seventh on the UBS Asian Tour Order of Merit, Ghei received a sponsors' invite to the event in recognition of his performance this season.
He won the Pine Valley Beijing Open and also posted two top-10 finishes to earn more than $210,000 so far.
Ghei said he was confident of doing well at this week's tournament, considered the 'Players championship' of Japanese men's golf with a prize money of $1.25 million.
"I have been working hard on my game with my coach (Claude Harmon) and in the last year or so things have started falling into place. I have still got a long way to go with my swing, but at least I am on the right track," he said.
"I have been working hard on my short game and especially in Beijing and at the Johnnie Walker I putted well. I have just been working hard on all aspects of my game and that has helped me become a little more consistent," he added.
Ghei said playing on different tours will also give him an opportunity to further test his game.
"My win in Beijing has given me a couple more years of exemption on the Asian Tour, so next year I can try and go out and play a few different Tours. I have been thinking about Europe and Japan and I think I am playing well enough to play on the bigger Tours as well now," he explained.
Ghei said he has also taken tips from Jeev Milkha Singh, who won two titles on the Japan tour last season, to prepare himself for his stint in the far east.
"Jeev and Jyoti have both had success in Japan. I was talking to Jeev and he was saying that playing in Japan with the kind of courses they have here really makes you a good player.
"You become a very good driver of the ball and it teaches you to play in different weather conditions and on different golf courses," Ghei revealed.
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