First Person

A score of eleven-under in last week8217;s Thailand Open, plus the leading score of eleven-under over 216 holes in the ongoing Hero Cycles Chandigarh Open, just about vindicates the changes Amritinder claims to have made to his game attitude, he stresses.

Amritinder owes a lot to his parents, especially his father Simran Singh, who he feels has been his coach and mentor as well. 8220;The first thing I remember about my childhood is golf. My father was doing so well and my late brother Kanwarinder Singh was also winning tournaments. Nobody pushed me into the game but I had nothing else on my mind,8221; he recollects.

8220;He could hold a club when he was five. He would accompany his father and brother to the course and watch them play,8221; his mother adds. 8220;His father can point out his mistakes like this. I knows his strengths and weaknesses. Whenever he is home, we all sit down and analyse his game. We have tried to make him more strong, mentally,8221; she says.

He won the all India Open title in Mumbai in 8217;92 and decided to turn a pro in 8217;93. Those were the times, he feels, when Chandigarh was fast emerging as a major golf-centre of the country. His friend and roommate on tours abroad, Jeev Milkha Singh, was shaping up well and the others could actually feel his success.

8220;Undoubtedly, Jeev has had an influence on me. He is always there for me when the chips are down. So is Daniel Chopra. I beat him for the India Open title 8217;92 and since then we have struck a rapport,8221; he says.

He has a word of praise for other Chandigarh golfers like Amandeep Johl and Harmeet Kahlon amateur and is confident that Chandigarh would produce many more. 8220;I looked upon Jeev and maybe some will look upon me and others. That8217;s how the baton passes,8221; he says.

Amritinder is 26, employed with Bharat Petroleum, and feels his best is yet to come. 8220;I had been yearning for a title. Now if I get that tomorrow, I would try to build on to that. I feel more confident now8221;.

8220;This has been a pretty satisfactory year. I have won something around US dollars 17,000 so far as prize money on the Asian PGA tour apart from the seventy-odd thousand rupees on the Indian Tour, which I am afraid I haven8217;t played much this year8221;.

Amritinder8217;s golf-caravan moves next to Hong Kong, where he will play the Omega Tour event in December. 8220;That8217;s the tourney golfers like me should try to do well in. You get to play alongside world class golfers and if you do well there, your confidence is boosted,8221; he informs.

He likes to be referred to as a happy-go-lucky-person and says that he would take the things as they come, still he has set himself a few goals. 8220;Next year, my aim would be to qualify for the European PGA. I would be very happy if I do that,8221; Amritinder says.

Still single, Amritinder doesn8217;t agree with his mother8217;s wish that he settles down quickly. 8220;No, no. No marriage now, not at least for another two-three years. In fact, I am yet to meet the right person,8221; he smiles. Though he doesn8217;t have much time to spare for his family, he doesn8217;t nurse any grudge. 8220;Sport has always interested me. If I wasn8217;t a golfer, I would have been into motor-racing, or maybe a hockey player.8221; That8217;s Amritinder Singh for you.