Kapur leaps to tied 2nd in Avantha Masters

Shiv Kapur seems to be working on an ability to open a window of opportunity, which allows him to seamlessly work up the leaderboard. On the final day of the Indian Open late last year, standing on the 9th tee of the Delhi Golf Club, Shiv threw a glance at the leaderboard to find himself eight off the lead.

A birdie was all it required to transform the trot into a gallop as he raced through the back nine, picking up three birdies. The effort wasn’t enough to challenge Rikard Karlberg, the champion, but the card of five-under did enough to lift him 17 spots and place him joint third.

A similar act unfolded on Friday. The Avantha Masters opened to yet another foggy morning and Shiv's mind matched the surroundings as he went through the unfinished opening round.

“I just couldn't find the fairway but hung on as the putting was good. It could have easily been two-over and out of contention," he said of the even-par card. The mind and craft not in sync, Shiv landed at the range with Jamie Gough, his coach since the Portugal Masters in October.

They had a mere 20 minutes before tee-off but that was sufficient to find “that something”. The spark was unmistakable as Shiv fired four birdies on his front nine (he started from the 10th).

An obedient putter was a relief, and displaying ample proof that Gough’s lessons on ball-striking and patience had not gone in vain, he picked up three more shots after the turn. The seven-under was the day's best card and brought with it a T2, a jump of 51 spots, with Jeev Milkha Singh who ended the day with unfinished business.

Meanwhile, reacting to HT's report on Rashid Khan being initially denied entry to the DLF Golf & Country Club on Tuesday, a senior club official clarified, “Rashid's name was not there on the PGTI list when he arrived for practice, he had a sponsor's invite which led to the confusion.”