Of all the events that I have played on the Asian PGA for the last few years, there is no other event where I have had as much success as the Hero Honda Masters. I have played in each of the five editions and have on each occasion finished in top five. Of course the sweetest moment was 2000, when I won the Hero Honda Masters. The very next week I won Star Alliance Open in Hong Kong for an amazing fortnight.Since those wins, a lot has changed for me. I played the European Tour last season and won once and then this year, too, I won an event on the European PGA where I just finished the season in 63rd place. It has been a great season, where I learnt a lot in the 20-odd events I played on it.This year I have played only five events on the Asian PGA and I have played well enough to have gained a handy lead on the Order of Merit. Apart from the win in the Malaysian Open, a joint-sanctioned event with the European PGA, I have had a 10th place finish at the Singapore Masters (an event I had won the previous year), tied sixth at Indian Open (at DGC) and third at Macau Open. So it has been a very good season on the APGA.Coming back to the Hero Honda Masters, it is indeed heartening to note how they have been supporting this event and the Indian domestic Tour. Besides that they have been supporting some players like Jeev Milkha Singh too. The same goes for many other sponsors like Mayor, the Official Ball of the tournament and the Indian PGA Tour.The Delhi Golf Club is one place where I am yet to win a big title. My Indian Open win came in Kolkata in 1999 and the Hero Honda win came at DLF. The other three wins have been abroad. At the DGC I have been close and finished in the top 10 on many occasions but a win is what I crave for.The DGC looks in great shape. I have had a good look a the changes. I am told nine greens have been changed. The talk is that the course is playing so well that there could be a new course record. But the slightest of mistakes and straying from the fairway can prove costly because of the heavy forest.The Indian challenge is strong with Jeev, Jyoti, Arjun (Singh), Gaurav Ghei, Vijay and many others. The foreign challenge includes the Thais, Thaworn Wiratchant, Srirot Thammanoon, Soctland’s Simon Yates, Canadian Rick Gibson, who in the last two Indian Opens has finished second here at DGC. There are many others and all of them will together make for a good and interesting contest and I hope Delhi’s golfing fraternity turns up in good numbers to make it a great Hero Honda Masters.(Tiger Sports Marketing)
