Bengaluru: Over the last few years, the Garden City has emerged as one of the powerhouses of golf. And the city gets its due as the inaugural TAKE Solutions Masters, an Asian Tour tournament gets underway here the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) on Thursday.
The last Asian tour event held here was the Indian Open, five years ago. The KGA, which has been a happy hunting ground for a host of Indian stars, will see a clutch of Asian tour winners vying for the winner’s cheque over the next few days.
Leading the Indian contingent will be the seasoned SSP Chawrasia along with local favourite S Chikkarangappa. The in-form Shiv Kapur will also be in action along with Indian stalwart Jeev Milkha Singh.
With the winning record tilting towards the Indians on home soil, recent Asian Tour winner Nicholas Fung from Malaysia will look to back up his first Asian Tour win in the Queen’s Cup in June with another title at the KGA.
Meanwhile, SSP, who is coming on the back of two missed-cuts in Europe, hopes his home record will work in his favour.
One of the established golfers on the Indian circuit, SSP, will look to garner the home advantage, as a win or a second-place finish would see the Indian, currently placed second, climb to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
Speaking on the eve of the tournament, a jovial SSP said, “Bangalore has always been one of my favourite courses and the conditions are always great here at KGA. I will play my best and have a good week, and if anyone plays better then they can have the trophy.”
Meanwhile, top contender Chikka will look to win his maiden Asian tour title, and what could be better than doing it at home turf. The Karnataka golfer, who has won the Take Solutions title while it was on the Asian Development Tour in 2014 and 2015, will hope for a repeat show.
The Bengaluru lad, who hasn’t had the best of seasons, is banking on his good record at the KGA to land him the title.
“The field is good but I am playing at home. I’ve had a rusty 2017 and hope to turn it around here. The pressure of playing at home and fans backing me always has a positive effect on me and I push myself more,” said Chikka.
Target is to win in Europe: SSP
SSP Chawrasia got off to a positive start this season retaining his Indian Open title with a seven-stroke victory in February.
Following that, SSP’s struggles outside the country continued as the seasoned pro missed out on the cut in the British Open along with top Indian star Anirban Lahiri.
But the 39-year-old will be hoping to set the course on fire this week as hopes to climb on top of the Order of Merit with the win.
“This is an important tournament. I’ve come so close to topping the Order of Merit, but if I win this I will climb to the top. So this week is very important. I’m playing well, I won the Louis Philippe Cup last year here and that is a big positive. Confidence is more on the home ground. I’ve been playing on the Indian grounds for almost 20 years now so my game works well here.”
Happy about his Indian show, SSP, now based at Bengaluru, lamented his show in Europe but hoped for a turnaround soon. “My game works away as well but I have to fine-tune it and hope I win outside the country as well. But I think negativity creeps in when I am playing away and I have to change that.
“The target now is to win in Europe. My performance has never been too good there but I am always learning. And hopefully I will win soon,” signed off SSP.
