Red-hot Kamps may spoil Randhawa party

Exciting possibilities are on the anvil when the Asian PGA Davidoff Tour returns to India for the $-200,000 Hero Honda Masters, the showpiece golf event of the sub-continent, which begins at the sparkling new Arnold Palmer-designed DLF Golf & Country Club from Thursday.

Jyoti Randhawa, winner of three of the last four Asian PGA Tour events in India, will begin his battle with history as he attempts to become the first player on the Tour to win the same title three years in a row. The 28-year-old Indian won the Hero Honda Masters in 1998, when he produced a magical six-under 66 on the fourth day to win by three strokes over pre-tournament favourite Jeev Milkha Singh, and repeated the act in 1999 with a final-hole birdie that killed Sammy Daniels's aspirations.

Randhawa, who lives a few miles down the DLF Golf & Country Club, will have an added advantage despite the change of venue from the Delhi Golf Club, where the event was held for last three editions. He happens to be the Brand Ambassador for DLF Golf Club and practices at the club regularly whenever in town.

"Playing here on international standard fairways has definitely helped improve my game. As for defending my title, I have to sort out some putting problems that I faced here a couple of weeks back during the HT ProGolf 2000. I think I have a good chance but I am not thinking of the record. I will go out there and play my normal game," said Randhawa, who became only the second Indian to qualify for the British Open when he made it to the main field at St Andrew's in July this year.

However, one man who can spoil Randhawa's party is Craig Kamps. The South African is in brilliant form and won last week's Lexus International at Thailand after recording runner-up finishes in the previous two events. At the Johnnie Walker Taiwan Open, he lost to Masters champion Vijay Singh of Fiji in a playoff and Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee denied him a shot at the title during the Kolon Cup Korean Open where the Thai sank a miraculous 40-footer birdie putt on the 72nd hole.

Randhawa will also be wary of English rookie Simon Dyson who finished runner-up last week in Thailand and moved to second place on the Order of Merit after Taiwan's Yeh Wei-tze. The 22-year-old Yorkshireman, who won the Macau Open and Volvo China Open this season for back-to-back titles, was keyed up before the Hero Honda Masters. "I will be missing a few Asian PGA Tour events after the Hero Honda Masters as I am going to play the final stage of European Tour Q-School. So, if I have to secure the top position in the Order of Merit, this week is going to be very crucial for me," he said on the eve of the tournament.

Yeh Wei-tze, who has had a stranglehold on the Order of Merit since the first event of the Tour after his astonishing victory during the Benson & Hedges Malaysian Open, an event co-sanctioned by the European Tour, will look to turn the table on Dyson and increase the lead.

The DLF Golf & Country Club is a young course and despite presence of several water bodies and strategically placed bunkers, the scores are expected to be low over the weekend. "The only problem out there would be the wind if it decides to pick up. But I am sure everyone would love the experience of playing here as this is a beautiful layout and the course has superb fairways and lightning fast greens," said Jeev Milkha Singh, who is making a slow and steady comeback after an injury layoff of almost six months. Jeev will take a lot of heart from his performance a couple of weeks back in the US where he made it to the second stage of the PGA Tour Q-School.

Five top amateurs in the country will join the big names from the Davidoff and Wills Sport Indian Golf Tour when the tournament tees off after a gala pro-am on Wednesday.