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This is an archive article published on November 7, 1998

An Indian winner now is my gut feeling

I am not sure if there ever have been five Indians in the top 10 of such a big international event. Add Daniel Chopra, who learnt golf in hi...

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I am not sure if there ever have been five Indians in the top 10 of such a big international event. Add Daniel Chopra, who learnt golf in his formative years in India, to this group and you have a fantastic situation. When the third round gets under way, the lead group will have Jyoti Randhawa with Gerry Norquist and Mike Cunning, while I will play with Gaurav Ghei and Sanjay Kumar.

I sure would like to win this tournament, not only because I haven’t won for a long time, but my gut feeling is that an Indian could it do it this time. In its three-year history, Gaurav has done it once in the inaugural year in 1995, and came on very strongly on the last round last year and finished second. So this really is his tournament and course. But the rest of us, Indians, are going to give it the big charge over the next two days.

The second round of a tournament can often turn out to be a tense one. In the first everybody just goes out with no mental baggage. On the second day, for those who have done badly in thefirst, there is the worry about the cut and for others it is about keeping the good work going. So, though I could have been a couple of strokes better, I will take a one-under after a satisfying five-under on the first day. So six-under midway through, and two strokes behind the leaders is a good position to be in. No pressure of being the leaders and not too much to make up either.

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I have been playing well, but my putts though the line has been good. I think mentally I am playing for a faster green and stroking well, but the ball stops a foot or two and sometimes more short. Since I have the line alright, I ought to try going past the hole and it will drain.

Jyoti Randhawa was brilliant and he has been in crackling form for five under today.

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