Wind no problem for Asian hot shots

By Mikhil Bhat/Doha

Even as the likes of two-time champion Paul Lawrie, world numbers four and five Justin Rose and Louis Oosthuizen take the limelight at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, which gets underway today at the Doha Golf Club, the Asian challenge will be mounted by seven golfers.

Former European Tour winners from India, Jeev Milkha Singh and SSP Chowrasia, 2009 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand, and Prom Meesawat of Thailand, will be looking to leave a mark.

There are also the two Qatari amateurs Saleh al-Kaabi and Ghanim al-Kuwari who would be looking to impress the audience at the Doha Golf Club.

Jeev Milkha Singh is especially upbeat about how well the Asians are doing. “There is a lot of talent in Asia. Like Thongchai (Jaidee) is playing well. (Thaworn) Wiratchant won the Asian Order of Merit, he is doing well,” the 42-year-old told Gulf Times yesterday.

Jeev has been battling a finger injury for some time now, which has also limited his practice sessions coming into the tournament. But that hasn’t slowed down the Indian at all. “I didn’t do much in the winter because of the injury. This is a good time to practice. I practised a bit in South Africa, a lot in Abu Dhabi, practised here yesterday, will be working hard today,” he said. “I think my game would get better.”

Having won the Scottish Open last year, he is feeling confident about the windy conditions at the Doha Golf Club. “I love playing in the wind. Winning in Scotland, where you could say golf started from, it was great to have won there.

“I like playing in the wind. I have played many years in the wind and I am comfortable. A lot of shots are required to be pulled off, so I enjoy playing in the wind. I hope it is windy this week and the best guy wins.”

Jeev’s thoughts about the wind were echoed by Chowrasia too. “I have got used to playing in the wind.  And it will affect everyone. Frankly, it is all in the mind on how to handle the wind,” he said. “I remember last year there was a lot of dust too, so it’s how the course plays.”

Reuters adds: Henrik Stenson is slowly returning to the sort of form that took him to fourth in the world in 2009 and believes he will compete regularly with golf’s elite again as long as he can successfully juggle his membership of two tours.

The 36-year-old Swede has a hectic time honouring his commitment to the European Tour and the U.S. Tour where he secured a five-year exemption thanks to his victory at the 2009 Players Championship in Florida, the event dubbed golf’s ‘fifth major’.

Stenson, who now has his family base in Orlando, needed to rely on his States-side exemption in 2011 and 2012 after suffering a nightmare spell that eventually caused him to slump to 230th in the world.

He finally showed signs of getting back to his best in 2012, winning back a place in the top 125 in the U.S. before rounding off his campaign with a confidence-boosting victory at the South African Open in November.

“The crucial thing is to get some world ranking points, get back in the top 50 and back in the big events regularly,” world number 52 Stenson told Reuters in an interview ahead of this week’s Qatar Masters.

“That would also ease the schedule for me because I did a lot of travelling last year. Having the family in the States, I really don’t want to have to play in all the lesser events,” he said .