Kuala Lumpur: A patient Shiv Kapur of India posted an even-par 72 in the final round of the CIMB Classic on Sunday to finish in a commendable tied 16th place, one rank better than multiple Major champion Phil Mickelson.
The Indian, ranked 14th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, played consistently over four rounds as he registered a six-under-par 282 total at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club to take home a cheque of US$112,000.
Kapur reckons that he is coming closer to winning his second Asian Tour since 2005 after staying patient despite making some mental errors at the US$7 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGA TOUR.
“I can be patient when I need to be and I need to be patient. I think in the past, I’ve gotten impatient and sort of let things slip when things are not going well. This week I fought back hard, four-over after my first five holes and six-under for the week. That’s one big lesson that I learn,” said Kapur.
“I wanted to get to double digits under-par but conditions were tough. I just didn’t get the putts to fall. I think if you hole a couple of putts early in the round it is a different story. You get to minus two or three under and then you’re looking to press on.
“For me I made a lot of pars today, didn't really make too many mistakes and just didn't hole enough birdie putts to really threaten, but I think I played steady the whole week. I take a lot of positives out of the week, a respectable finish,” he said.
The 31-year-old Indian will now aim to win the Hero Indian Open in a fortnight when it is played at his home course at the Delhi Golf Club in a fortnight.
“Obviously I would have liked to have been in the top-10 or higher and played my way into the next PGA TOUR event. But I think I take a lot of good things from the week, and going into the Indian Open now, I feel like I'm hitting form with last week and this week, and I'm pretty happy with where my game is.”
