Indian pair ready to take on the world

The Indian pair will tee up against USA (represented by Jim Furyk and Justin Leonard) and Ireland (represented by Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley). ‘‘It will be a great experience for both of us. I have played the tournament at the same venue in 1997 when Arjun Singh was my partner,’’ said Gaurav.

However, this time, there is a different format in the tournament. ‘‘Last time it was not a part of the World Golf Championships and it was a total of both the players’ scores,’’ added Ghei. Besides, this time the tournament organisers will have an alternate shot combo on the second and fourth day.

‘‘That will be the deciding factor as Kiawah Island is one of the toughest courses I have played at till date and those two days will determine how we play,’’ Ghei said.

Digvijay is looking forward to the tournament after a disappointing finish in the Hero Honda Masters. He admitted that it would be a new experience but he was confident. He said, ‘‘It will be a new experience for me but Gaurav has already played the event before.’’

Digvijay, relatively inexperienced, was reminded of an incident which occured at the send of function organised in the Capital for the duo. Digvijay was held up at the US embassy and could not attend the function. He said he was delayed by the visa officials in the US embassy.

‘‘I went to the US Embassy for my visa and they conducted an interview. I was asked to point out the difference between a wood and an iron,’’ the young pro said. Leading professionals at the function also recalled similar delays they had to face before tournaments when they could have spent important time ‘‘for practice’’ instead of queuing up for visa clearance from various embassies.

However, such incidents will hardly recur in the minds of either Ghei and Digvijay when they have to show their skills in a field which includes some of the best golfers on the scene. ‘‘We are both playing pretty consistently and hopefully we will do our best there,’’ said Ghei.