Jyoti Randhawa fears chum Jeev Milkha Singh poses the most serious threat to his title defence at the Hero Honda Indian Open golf tournament.
The defending champion thinks Jeev may spoil his Indian Open party
NEW DELHI: Jyoti Randhawa fears chum Jeev Milkha Singh poses the most serious threat to his title defence at the Hero Honda Indian Open golf tournament as the Asian Tour event starts here on Thursday.
Gunning for a rare third title, Randhawa hinted that over the next four days, the Delhi Golf Course (DGC) would see friends turning foes and going for a no-hold-barred rivalry for the silverware.
“Jeev is in good form. We are good friends off the course but great adversaries while playing. I’m looking forward to compete with him,” Randhawa said on the eve of the championship.
Randhawa is chasing five-time Open winner Peter Thomson’s record of three Indian Open titles which the Australian won in 1964, 1966 and 1976 and he reckons Jeev might spoil his party.
There, however, is not bad blood in this rivalry among the buddies. Jeev on Tuesday put his money on the defending champion and said, “Jyoti is always very tough to beat around this course and he has a great record here.”
Sharing the mutual admiration, Randhawa said, “Well, I did not know that he has tipped me to win. But if you ask me, I would put my money on Jeev. He’s playing really well.”
Randhawa realises he is on the threshold of a record at DGC but the golfer denied there was any additional burden on his shoulders.
“Well, pressure is always there whenever you play here.More than anything else, I have to live upto my expectations. I was quite consistent in European Tour events and though I was not scoring as well as I should have, I had a great season so far,” he said.
“I’m not sure if it’s going to happen this time but I can tell you that I’ll do it at some point in my career,” he said, oozing confidence.
“And I need to play even better to feed Zoravar,” quipped Randhawa, who recently became father. With the DGC stretched beyond the 7000-yard mark, Randhawa reckons things would be a little difficult this time.
“Tees have been pushed back, which makes it longer and tougher. I think the key would be not to make too many errors.”
Randhawa said the Indian Open was like the fifth Major for him.
“Every golfer worth his salt wants to win the national championship. It’s the fifth Major for me. I want to win it so that when my son grows up, I can narrate it to him.”
On his plans, Randhawa said he would play around 30 events on the European Tour this year and would cut it down to 20-25 next season, while qualifying for the USPGA Tour remains the ultimate target.
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