Seven years after his first and only Major appearance, Shiv Kapur shot a stunning six-under 64 on a rainy afternoon in the second round of the 36-hole qualifier to earn a berth at the 2013 British Open.
Kapur grabbed one of the three spots available from the Local Final Qualifying in Dunbar. The Indians, who was lying tied 11th after a first round of one-under 69, was two-under for the front nine in the second round.
He then went all out on the back nine and nailed four birdies for a flawless 64 and finished the 36-hole qualifiers at seven-under 133.
His birdies came on the fourth, ninth, 11th, 13th, 14th, and most crucially on the closing 18th. In the morning, he played the first round with an eagle on par-5 second and a birdie on 15th and bogeys on sixth and 13th.
Finishing one shot ahead of Kapur was local amateur Grant Forrest who shot 67 and 65 for an 8-under-par aggregate. The third berth from Dunbar went to a 45-year-old Melbourne club professional John Wade, who took a holiday to play the qualifier (70-63).
"I wanted to try to qualify on a links course because I think that's the proper way to do it. It was the first time I had played a links course since this time last year, so it was all a bit strange to start with, but I soon got the hang of things again. I played beautifully this afternoon," Kapur said.
Kapur's last and only appearance at a Major came at Royal Liverpool in 2006, a year after he had a sensational Rookie year on Asian Tour.
He had won the season-ending Volvo Masters of Asia and was adjudged Rookie of the year for 2005.
