Know your golfer: Shiv Kapur

May 27, 2014. Shiv Kapur is no stranger to rough weather. The ten years long wait since his coming close to the US Open qualifying in 2004, has finally come to fruition with him qualifying for the golf Major despite rough weather in Surrey.

Kapur’s achievements are many though they come in batches. As he heads to Pinehurst in the next few weeks, we recap his golf journey. In the early years of the millennium, when Kapur was studying in the Purdue University, he had his first tryst with amateur golf. A landmark win happened when he went onto win the gold in Busan Asian Games in 2002. This was a big step since he was the second Indian to have been felicitated after Laxman Singh. He had proved himself successful in the amateur career by winning both Malaysian and Indian Amateur Opens in 2000. He had also won an individual gold in 2002 at the Asian games.

The year 2005 saw Shiv Kapur changing gears from being an amateur to a professional. His victory at the Volvo Masters of Asia at Bangkok, showed that Kapur was made for longer courses. Defeating compatriot Jyoti Randhawa in 2004 was another significant milestone in Kapur’s career. The year 2006 offered another breakthrough as Kapur proved his mettle as a matured player by qualifying for his first major tournament at the British Open. This very year saw him finish as one among top twenty in six sports events. He also earned a big cheque of US$1,23,000 at the Barclays Singapore Open. By the end of the year, he had already bagged the European Tour Card for 2007 with the 117th position in the Order of Merit.

In 2007, after winning the second position in Jakarta Indonesian Open and the second Asian Tour title his best performance came through with him chasing Mikko Ilonen. Ilonen won but nevertheless, Kapur had made his way to the top ten in Barclays Singapore Open that very year. Despite a back spasm, he had managed to secure his position among top 115 in the Order of Merit.

Even after the last week’s poor performance at BMW Championship, where he didn’t make the cut, Kapur made a big win when he completed 36 holes in Surrey, thus silencing his critics and beaming his way into the US Open. One can only wish that his victory at Pinehurst brings adds another feather to his crown and makes the world of golf proud.