Top-five is a decent finish

I gave it all but still came a little short. In the end,all those mistakes,missed short putts and the two double bogeys in the third round of the Hero Honda Indian Open proved too costly. But that’s what golf is all about. You need to work on each shot and fight for each stroke. It has been a nice year for me. There were celebrations with the family after the win at Wyndham Championships on the PGA Tour and I thought it would be nice to round off the year with the Indian Open. Alas,it was not to be. I don’t think I played badly as such on any of the days. It was just there were small things left out. The first two days I was trying to shake the rust off as I drove here and there and then the putting just didn’t fall into place. There were two to three strokes I left on the course each day that I normally would not and at the end of the week it adds up to an awful lot. Still to finish fifth was nice. But it should have been a lot better.

Rikard Karlberg was simply amazing. He was consistent through the week. Shooting 70 or under each of the four days was great and I believe he shot below 70 on all four days when he won the SAIL Open earlier this year. So he really knows this course well. And I am sure you are going to see this man a lot more around Asia and Europe and of course at the DGC. You don’t easily forget a course where you win twice in a single year.

Manav Jaini raised a lot of hopes through the week. He was in there when he turned for the back nine. I was checking the scores and he had five birdies on the front nine and at one stage I saw the leaderboard he was a clear leader at 11-under. But on the back nine,he must have felt the pressure and gave away a lot of shots. Three bogeys and no birdies,but that’s what golf does to you. The clubs don’t do your bidding suddenly and that’s when the real test comes. Still a third place for Jaini is a good finish and I’m sure a win is around the corner for him.

Shiv Kapur came up with the best round of the day at 67 but that was still just a little short. We were all in the Hero Honda marquee watching the closing moments and I could read Shiv’s face. He was thinking ‘what if’ and at times was wondering if he would be in that play-off. In the end Karlberg produced a stunning finish. All in a good week. Time with friends and family and a top-five. But most of all it was nice to be part of a great event that Hero Honda Indian Open turned out to be.