V Krishnaswamy: Steady charge of the Indian brigade

SIMPLY GOLF

Indian golfers are on the move. From Asia to Japan to Europe, they've been on a winning drive on most of the Tours. So far, they have not been able to make a major impact on the 'Mother of all Tours' "" the US PGA Tour "", but this perception is changing as well.

Arjun Atwal, Jyoti Randhawa and Daniel Chopra, who Indian golf fans still think of as their own, have not just been teeing up at the $3 million Reno Tahoe at the Montreux Country Club this week but have also been making their cuts.

International golf writers have also begun noticing the Indian players and their peception about them is changing as they continue to make their mark. India has now winners in Asia, Japan and Europe, with a few of them making cuts in the Majors.

Chopra and Atwal have full cards for 2004 while Randhawa, the Asian No. 1 in 2002 and currently playing on the Japanese Tour, has caught the attention of promoters for his fine play. He has got two invitations from the PGA Tour, including an offer to tee up at the Reno Tahoe and the Buick Championships, being held this week.

Chopra, whose has an Indian father and Swedish mother, and who holds a Swedish passport, began modestly with a lot of missed cuts. Today he is in terrific form. In three weeks, he has made two top 10s "" at the Buick Open and at the Renoe Tahoe.

With those big moves, his aggregate prize money for the year is moving up as well. With a little more than $466,000 in his kitty, Chopra is well on his way to keeping his card for 2005. He needs to be inside top 125 and is currently at 116. He has also won twice in two appearances on the Nationwide Tour.

This year Chopra realised another ambition "" to play in a Major. He made the cut at the US Open and in one of the days, he was paired with Tiger Woods. Chopra finished in top 30 and is now aiming to make it to as many Majors, and maybe a win too.

Meanwhile, Atwal has been struggling on the PGA Tour. He started off well with three cuts in four weeks but has since been missing the mark. But at the Reno Tahoe with Chopra and Randhawa's presence to inspire him, Atwal did make a cut and finished 53rd. At one level, it is not the finish or the money that counted but just the boost of having played on a weekend and making a cut.

Randhawa had a modest start this season, missing a couple of cuts in Japan, where he won in his Rookie last year. But ever since he qualified for the British Open through the International qualifiers in Malaysia, his focus has been the British Open.

On return from The Troon, he said, "I had been training and preparing myself for this (British Open). After twice missing the cut, I wanted to make a good impression with a decent finish." He managed that with a top 30 finish, which is a huge plus for Indian golfs.

Randhawa's foray on the US PGA was successful in that he made the weekend cut and finished tied 63rd. The finish may not have been high but his debut was encouraging. He opened with a 74, but then his second round of 69, was excellent. However, on the final day, he slumped with a 77 and 76.

Of late, Asian players have increasingly been getting invites to the Majors. Zhang Lianwei of China was invited to the Masters and Thongchai Jaidee got an entry to the PGA Championships. Neither of them made a big impression. Randhawa, on the other hand, came through a qualifier while Atwal, who missed the cut at the British Open got a berth as Asia No. 1 in 2003 for the British Open.

Among the Asians, Indians are now being seen as the most promising. With Jeev Milkha Singh having been the first to play and make the cut in 2002 US Open at Bethpage, one is sure to see more from them in the near future.