New challenge for Randhawa at Old Course

In the pairings and tee-off times for the first two rounds announced on Tuesday, Randhawa is clubbed with Briton Stuart Little and Lionel Alexandre of France.

Randhawa, the part of the annual Asian Invasion8217; to the British Open, will start well past noon at 1530 hours local time on the opening day of the 127th edition at the home of golf.

Next day, the Indian will tee off at 1050 hours and will have to wait till the evening to know whether he made the cut or not. Ghei, who qualified for Royal Birkdale British Open in 1997, failed to make the third day of the championship.

With a liking for the Old Course, following his appearance for India in the Alfred Dunhill Cup last year, Randhawa could better Ghei8217;s achievement by stretching his stay at St Andrews till Sunday.

8220;I am happy that the Open is at St Andrews as I have played competition golf here in last year8217;s Dunhill Cup. I played three practice rounds and three matches, shooting 71, 72 and 73. The course suits my game as I am quite long off the tee,8221; Randhawa said.

Randhawa, who is having the finest season of his career 8212; winning Hero Honda Masters late last year, Wills Open and a runner-up at China Open 8212; is weighing his chances to make some mark with the likes of Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, David Duval, Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood in the fray.

8220;But I cannot really say I know the course as every day it plays differently depending on the wind. That is the beauty of St Andrews. It is a feel course and I like that. The greens are so big and you can leave yourself with huge putts 8212; and those greens can be so tricky,8221; said Randhawa.

He knows that he could get his name into India8217;s golfing annals but will now be sidetracked with the task ahead.

8220;I don8217;t want to look too far ahead and intend to take it one shot at a time. That8217;s me8230; I always like to remain focused.

8220;To be honest, I didn8217;t play particularly well at the final qualifying but managed some good scores. If I can improve here this week, it8217;ll be good. I felt like I hit the ball much better in my first practice round on the old course but all I8217;m looking for is to play my best possible golf this week,8221; said Randhawa.

His to-be brother-in-law and a pro golfer Digvijay Singh, will caddy for him, having done so at the final qualifying.

8220;Digvijay has been a great help. We worked well together over the past few days and I hope we continue to gel. He is an old schoolfriend and collegemate and I introduced him to golf.

8220;Also he will soon become my brother-in-law as I8217;m marrying his sister, Tina, on November 26,8221; Randhawa said.

Randhawa will be joined by Kyi Hla Han of Myanmar, Asia8217;s best player last season, Yeh Wei-Tze of Taiwan and England8217;s Simon Dyson at St Andrews.

Han earned a direct entry into the Open following his triumph in last season8217;s Asian PGA Order of Merit while Asian PGA players 8212; Yeh and Dyson survived the final qualifying rounds.

Han warmed up for his British Open debut with practice rounds alongside several golfing legends. He renewed his acquaintance with old friend, Fiji8217;s Vijay Singh 8212; the winner of US Masters at Augusta and had the company of Spaniard great Seve Ballesteros in the three-ball practice round.

Ballesteros, who hoisted the Auld Claret jug three Times to become one of the games8217; greatest players, provided Han with the intricacies of St Andrews, having clinched a memorable victory in 1984 at the old course.

8220;It was too good to catch up with Vijay as we are good friends,8221; said Han, who helped Singh establish a base in Malaysia in the 1980s.

8220;I bumped into Vijay on the flight to Edinburgh and asked him for a practice round. To have seven playing in the threesome was awesome but I8217;m totally focused with what I have to do this week,8221; Han said.

Han is confident of keeping Asia8217;s flag flying high after a recent top-10 finish in the Japan GTO players championship.

8220;I don8217;t want to predict anything but I really feel good here. The key would be to avoid the bunkers because they are so deep. Playing in the open at St Andrews is going to be the highlight of my year. It8217;s such as exciting prospect. I love it.. The buzz is incredible,8221; Han said.

The 27-year-old Yeh, winner of the co-sanctioned Malaysian Open, will have a chance to emulate mentor 8220;Mr8221; Lu liang-Huan, who finished runner-up to Lee Trevino at Royal Birkdale in 1971 for Asia8217;s best finish in the Open.

8220;Just walking along the old course gave me goose bumps today but I8217;m not here to make up the numbers. I hope to make the cut first and see how high I can finish. I8217;ve spent the last six weeks playing in Europe and the experience will be crucial in my bid for success here.

8220;I8217;m quite at home now with the wind and the cold and hope to have a good week, and maybe do just as well as my hero, 8220;Mr8221; Lu, said Yeh, whose fiancee Tsai Yu-Ju will caddy for him.

Yeh, a fisherman8217;s son who found little success in four seasons until the Malaysian Open, qualified at Leven Links with a 10-under-par 132 aggregate in his first attempt to play in the Open.

What made it more amazing was that Yeh never had a practice round at the Tight Links course and needed to keep an eye out on the group ahead so that he knew where to aim with his drives.

The 22-year-old Dyson, who won the Macau Open and Volvo China Open in May, blazed to a course record of 62 at Scotscraig to earn a prized spot this week after finishing second. On Tuesday, he played a practice round with Lee Westwood.