The Indian Open organisers might as well put out an advertisement before its next edition: Veterans with 10 years or more in professional golf in search of their maiden international title are advised to book their flights to Delhi for the Indian Open. Vijay Kumar, who finished a close second at the 1995 Gadgil Western Masters at the Delhi Golf Club, finally did so at the 2002 Royal Challenge Indian Open.
A year later, Mike Cunning, who has been travelling on Asian tours for more than a decade and a half, and even won an Order of Merit title, had never won a title before in Asia. That is till, he set a new record for a four-day total bringing in 18-under 270 at the 2003 Royal Challenge Indian Open.
At the 2004 edition, the final day teed off with Pablo Del Olmo, Mardan Mamat and Keith Horne in the lead group and all of them were in search for their first pro title on the Asian Tour.
The man who walked away with the traditional Indian Open trophy and the specially designed Royal Challenge trophy, was Mamat, a smiling Malay, who has made Singapore his home. Mamat played brilliant golf on the final day to come through with a card of seven-under 65 and win with a record-equalling total of 18-under 270.
Hey, these are the only guys who have used Indian Open to propel them to the next level.
Back in 1998, Firoz Ali had a breakthrough win at his home course in Royal Calcutta Golf Course winning the Indian Open and then a year later, Arjun Atwal did likewise. While Ali has not been able to get back to the same heights, Atwal has gone on to win twice on European Tour and has made his entry into the coveted PGA Tour in the US.
Mamat's win rounded off a week of great golf. In the first round, Horne had shot a bogey-free nine-under 63 to equal the course record set by Myanmarese pro Zaw Moe last year. Mamat was a picture of consistency as he shot under par each of the four days with rounds of 68, 67, 70 and 65.
The 36-year-old Mamat, who turned professional back in 1994, has been having one of his best seasons ever. This year he has finished fourth at the Thai Open and then shot a six-under at the Johnnie Walker Classic for a tied 40th place in a star-studded field.
At the Myanmar Open, was once again fourth, and eighth at the Caltex Singapore Masters. His biggest blemish was the missed cut at the Malaysian Open.
What is it exactly that has brought about such a change in Mamat after all these years. Thus far his big moments seemed to be the appearance at the 1997 British Open and the 2002 World Cup appearance with teammate Lam Chih Bing.
In fact in the last season or two, the younger Lam Chih Bing, who packs a lot of power and distance in his drives has been seen as the Singaporean hope.
But this season, Mamat has been on the ascendant from the very start. Discipline has always been part of Mamat's armour.
A devout Muslim, he prays five times a day "" he has played more than a few pro events during the holy month of Ramzan and still kept his fast through the day "" but in the last few months, he has decided to work on his swing, putting, and physical and mental fitness.
At the Singapore Masters, Mamat raised visions of a great win in the joint-sanctioned event with European Tour, as he was the club house leader after two rounds at one stage.
On the second day of the event, he showed his new found stamina and played 22 holes on an energy sapping day as bad weather prevented the completion of the first round the previous day.
Mamat, who before this win at the Indian Open had two runner-up finishes in his professional career, explained that he had worked on his concentration this season among other things.
Talking of his gameplan, Mamat said, "My concentration has been very good. I just want to concentrate hard and take it one step at a time ...just think of my next shot."
Mamat hooked up with swing coach Kel Llewellyn and they have spent a lot of time in Johor Baru, which is a short drive from Singapore where Mamat lives. Working with Kel since September, Mamat has seen some startling results this season. Those results reinforced his belief that a breakthrough triumph was around the corner.
"I've worked with Kel since last September and so far, it's been good. I can't tell you what he is teaching me as it's a secret!" said Mardan with a smile.
Then at Singapore, he also ran into yoga teacher, Sukhdev Singh, who has become somewhat of a rage on the Asian Tour. Singh, who has taken Jyoti Randhawa to great heights, agreed to work with Mamat. "He was helpful in Singapore and his yoga helps me keep up concentration," added Mamat.
When Mamat arrived into Delhi for the Indian Open, he found in Ali Jaan, younger brother of 1991 and 1993 Indian Open champion, Ali Sher, an able caddie. Jaan had carried the bag for Arjun Atwal, when he won the Hero Honda Masters last November. Next, Singh worked with him for two-three days.
On the final day of the Indian Open, Singh met up with him and Mamat recalled, "Yogi (as Mamat calls Singh) told me to just play and not think of the scores. He wanted me to play my best and play one shot at a time." That kept his focus and in the end, he produced a brilliant finish with a birdie each on the 17th and 18th hole for a five-stroke win, one of the biggest at the Indian Open.
Meanwhile, Mexican Del Olmo, also looking for his maiden Asian Tour title, finished five strokes behind at 13-under 275. It was his second successive second place "" he was tied second at Hero Honda Masters "" in the last six months.
"I think I got ahead of myself and started thinking about winning," said Del Olmo, who also added that work with his new psychologist, Deborah Graham had helped him a lot this season. For good measure, Del Olmo added, "Maybe I should also look out for a caddie like Mardan's (Ali Jaan) and check out on Yogi."
India's best was Mukesh Kumar, whose tied fifth placing was his best-ever in an Asian Tour event. Firoz Ali carried on his comeback on the final day with a second successive three-under 69, which saw him close the tournament at eight-under 280 and a sole seventh place.
Sadly, the crowds were rather sparse this year. However Mamat played some terrific golf, worthy of an audience greater than what he got. In fact the tournament itself deserved better, since it provided a course record-equalling card.
