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 that8217;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 don8217;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 didn8217;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 don8217;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 that8217;s what golf does to you. The clubs don8217;t do your bidding suddenly and that8217;s when the real test comes. Still a third place for Jaini is a good finish and Im 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 Shiv8217;s face. He was thinking 8216;what if8217; 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.