Shiv Kapur has announced that he will focus on the European Challenge Tour for the remainder of the 2013 campaign, beginning with this week’s Telenet Trophy, as the Indian hopes to build on his victory at the season-opening Gujarat Kensville Challenge.
Kapur’s appearance at Royal Waterloo Golf Club, near Brussels, will be his first on the Challenge Tour since his glorious victory on home soil in January, when he finished two shots clear of Scotsman Andrew McArthur to clinch the first European title of his career.
The 31 year old currently lies sixth in the Challenge Tour Rankings and the New Delhi man, a member of The European Tour for seven consecutive years before losing his playing rights for the 2013 season, is now relishing the opportunity to bounce back.
“I guess Ahmedabad made me think about what I really want to do right now,” he said. “To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t planning to play on the Challenge Tour before then but then I got the win and I put myself in a good position.
“I reassessed my goals after that win. It was obviously a really satisfying win and it really put me on the right path early in the season. I have made up my mind that I am going to give the Challenge Tour priority and see how it goes over the next few months.
“I couldn’t have asked for more, winning in my first event. I am obviously trying to get my card back on The European Tour and I started in the right direction and now I need to put the pedal to the metal.”
Having had time to let that victory sink in, Kapur knows how important it could be in the context of his career and has shown just how serious he is about his Challenge Tour campaign this year by moving to continental Europe from his Indian home for the summer.
“It’s a good feeling when you start the season on a high note,” he said. “It takes a bit of the pressure off but at the same time your goals change and you want to win the Rankings or finish as high as you can, so there is always a lot to play for.
“I have had a good few months recently, my form has been really good. I’m just hoping that I can take that on into the European summer.
“The European conditions are different, you have to deal with cold and wind and things like that so I’ll have to battle that but at the end of the day you just have to play well.
“I’ll just have to settle down now and I’m basing myself in Europe now until September, in Milan, so I am looking forward to it.”
Kapur is joined by the three other winners on the Challenge Tour this year, Barclays Kenya Open champion Jordi Garcia Pinto, Challenge de España winner François Calmels – a former Telenet Trophy champion – and Brooks Koepka, who claimed his second title at the Montecchia Golf Open presented by POLAROID.
Former European Tour winners in the field include Nick Dougherty, Bradley Dredge and Daniel Vancsik, while Marco Crespi returns to defend the title he claimed last year at Ravenstein Royal Golf Club.
Photo: Karolina Gembara