Kolkata, 24-12-2014

Preview Quotes - Arjun Atwal and Gaganjeet Bhullar

Here are some quotes from top contenders Arjun Atwal and Gaganjeet Bhullar ahead of the McLeod Russel Tour Championship:

Arjun Atwal:

I had a career-threatening injury and it had got to a point where I thought I would never compete again. It was therefore a relief to win the tournament in Dubai. It’s great to have a full card at least on the Asian Tour. 

All my friends here in India and the United States have been very helpful through my tough times. Tiger Woods has been a good friend. He was very supportive when I was undergoing rehabilitation.

By virtue of being a winner I still have a conditional card on the PGA Tour. I’ll still get five to six events on the PGA Tour next year and the effort will be to earn the full card once again.

When I got into contention in the Dubai Open, I was quite confident of my chances. I think my experience helped me come through in Dubai.

It’s great to be competing at my home course after 13 years. My family and friends will be coming out to support me and that makes it a special week for me.

The growth of the PGTI has been fantastic for Indian professional golf. I don’t know too many of the young kids. I will try to get to know some of them over the next few days. There are some impressive swings from what I saw in the range. I would say the outlook of this whole tour has changed compared to when I played back in 1995 or 96. We didn’t have as many fit guys. You see some of these youngsters, they are big strapping lads and they hit the ball a mile. We had very few of us who looked a total professional. It’s good to see so many youngsters taking a jump and turning pro. I wish more kids would take up the game and turn pro.

A reporter asked me last week in Dubai that how come so many Indians are playing well. I replied ‘you just woke up to that fact?’ Indians have been playing well for a while now. It’s only going to get better. I think the more people win outside, the more confidence it gives to their peers. That’s how it snowballs.

The McLeod Russel Tour Championship is a great event. Aditya Khaitan is a personal friend of mine. When I turned pro in 1995 he was the only person to come up and say that he would cover my expenses and get me a head-start. I will never forget that as long as I live. For him to step up and put Kolkata back on the golfing map is huge. I hope more guys like him would step up and take interest in sponsoring golf tournaments.

Gaganjeet Bhullar:

I’m still in the process of recovering from a wrist injury. This will be the fourth week I’ll be playing after the injury. I struggled the first two weeks after the injury as I wasn’t hitting it long. I’ve recovered about ninety per cent now and the injury is not really troubling me anymore. However, I’m still not hitting it as long as I usually do.

The course conditions at the RCGC are excellent. I really enjoyed my practice round today. The key this week will be to keep it in play and landing it close to the pins.

The McLeod Russel Tour Championship offers a great reward for players at the end of a tough season. I would like to thank McLeod Russel for their initiative that will in turn help Indian golf grow further.

I’ll now be playing on the Asian Tour next year and will focus on being right up there in the Order of Merit in Asia and on improving my world ranking.