Shiv Kapur best Indian golfer at 32nd in DP World India Championship

DP World India Championship: In the golf competition that offered the highest-ever prize purse in India — $4 million — local players disappointed big time. In a field of 138, 26 Indians competed, and only five made the cut, applied after the second round at their familiar but demanding Lodhi course of the Delhi Golf Club.

After the fourth and final round of top-quality golf, the best Indian finisher was only 32nd. Shiv Kapur, 43, a four-time winner on the Asian Tour, improved his game in the last round, but the eventual champion, Englishman Tommy Fleetwood — the 2024 Olympic silver medallist — and several other foreign players were too good to be tamed. Playing under fine, sunny weather and in front of his family, Fleetwood received $680,000 as the first prize.

Kapur shot a nine-under-par 279 (72-69-70-68) to be tied with three others at the 32nd spot.

Four other Indians

Among the other four Indians who made the cut, 30-year-old Dhruv Sheoran finished joint 36th along with three overseas players after shooting eight-under-par 280 (68-73-67-72).

Thirty-eight-year-old Anirban Lahiri (70, 71, 73, 71) and 29-year-old Shubhankar Sharma (74, 66, 71, 74) were among the five players tied for the 56th spot, all carding three-under 285 each. Sharma shot a bogey-free 66 in the second round but failed to maintain his tempo in the crucial third and fourth rounds when the pressure mounted.

Abhinav Lohan, the fifth Indian to make the cut (70, 72, 73, 72), finished tied 63rd with Australian Jason Scrivener. Both carded one-under 287.

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Reasons for failure

Kapur said that the Indians not being up to the mark shows the strong competitive field.

“We had arguably the greatest golfer of our generation, Rory, and a host of other Ryder Cup stars, besides the cream of the DP World Tour. It was one of the strongest fields outside of a Rolex Series event, and it shows the quality of golfers on display,” Kapur told Patriot. “I think the youngsters will learn a lot from this experience and it should help them next time around when they compete against competition of this calibre.”

Indian golf legend Ali Sher said the pressure of competing in a top-class field, comprising Ryder Cup stars and the biggest attraction — Rory McIlroy (world No 2), Tommy Fleetwood (No 5), Viktor Hovland (No 13), and Shane Lowry (No 25), among others — simply proved too much for the Indians.

“After all, it’s a game; they didn’t click. It could be due to pressure — it was a big tournament. In PGTI matches, the same players would play seven-under or eight-under. I think pressure could be the only reason; I can’t think of anything else. They were probably not focused enough,” said 65-year-old Sher, who made history by becoming the first Indian professional to win the Indian Open in 1991 and repeating the feat in 1993.

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Amit Luthra, part of the Indian team that won gold at the 1982 Delhi Asian Games, furnished a few other reasons for the Indians not living up to expectations.

“When we have Asian or European Tour events, we don’t get the top guys, like world No 2 McIlroy and No 5 Fleetwood, here in India. We get very low-ranked players. These top guys adapt to every situation,” said the 65-year-old, pointing out that the Indians don’t get enough experience playing against the best at home.