Father's take to the course

Father's take to the course
Shona Manco

Gurgaon, March 17: It seemed like a `Daddy's day out' on the second day of the Wills Indian Open currently underway at the Classic Golf Resort. As the pro's continued burning the course and Lin Fu-Chin brought in another 65 to tie the course record, the few spectators spotted on the course were mainly concerned fathers.

Watching the results and consequences of each shot, they only stopped to exchange scores or such information. Tall and erect, protected from the sharp sun by his brown hat and on his way to recovery after breaking his leg earlier this year, Jyoti Randhawa's father greeted his son with an enthusiastic clap for hissecond shot on the par four 16th.

Luckily, he managed to hitch a ride in one of the numerous buggies out on the course and watch his son on the way to a 68 after his fabulous 66 yesterday.

Amateur golfer Shiv Kapur also had an observer in his dad who walked all the 18 holes. And he will probably have quite a lot of advice forthcoming after his son missed the cut, which went at one-under par, inspite of shooting a creditable 70 today.

On the other hand, Shivi Singh watched his son, Jaiveer throw away his chances of playing over the weekend. After a three over yesterday, a dropped shot on the 18th sealed his chances of making the cut, which was only possible if he could conjure up a two or three under par today. Meanwhile, Prakash Bhandari, helping as a referee for the week had a lot to be satisfied about. Vivek, who has been through quite a bad patch in the past few months due to some swing changes that left him uncomfortable on the course, found his magic touch as he followed up yesterday's 70 with a four-under 68 today to go to six under.

However, probably the happiest father today was the tall bearded gentleman who regularly walks with Arjun Atwal. He spent the better half of this morning on the course, with his faithful folding chair and watched from the side-lines as his younger son brought in a six-under 66 to confirm his place on he second rung of the the leaderboard with a two day total of ten-under-par. And if that's a handful of concerned fathers, Amit Dube's father was also spotted on the course yesterday.

IS Bindra too caught up with his son Amar, as soon as India had confirmed their victory over South Africa, to congratulate him for his one over par today, eventhough it failed to help him make the cut.

Meanwhile, spectators were still hard to find, though a lot are expected over the weekend. IGU council member, Dilip Thomas feels that the course, which isideal for spectators since it offers a wide view of the fairways when one walks along the cart path, should attract a number of people from the city. However, for a man who is dedicated to the sport and travels all over the world to catch some golfing action, the much talked about distance and traffic to the CGR pose no hindrance.

Yet, Harsh Dhar, Group brand manager for ITC, who feels that ``people driveall the way from Noida to the Delhi Golf Course, so it is only a matter of time before they discover this hidden gem,'' seconds his opinion. Let's hope he'sright.