The tied 27th finish, coming as it did after a four-month stretch during which his results oscillated between modest and poor, it is indeed a welcome high . Besides, there is also that tag of becoming the first Indian to make the cut at the Open. Many years ago when Randhawa won the Indian Open in 2000, he had said, "Winning the National Open of one's own country is indeed special."
But now there is another dream to pursue. Speaking of the Open, he said, "They say if you can finish in the top thirty in a Major, you have it in you to win one. I sure believe I can (do that) now." This is no big talk. Randhawa firmly believes he can win a Major.
Randhawa got his third start at the Open through the International Qualifying tournament, held at the Saujana Golf and Country Club in Malaysia. He was in terrific form. He had a second place finish in the prestigious Johnnie Walker Classic and a third place in the Singapore Masters. He was also tenth in the BMW Asian Open. All the three events were joint-sanctioned with the European PGA Tour.
As one of the top qualifiers, Randhawa's primary focus has been the Open. "Thereafter, I was gearing up mentally only for the British Open. I would spend hours practising the low trajectory cuts or hooks shots, the kind I would be required to use at the Open. This was my third Open and I was determined to make the cut and get a good finish."
Randhawa was so focused on the Open that he reached Britain a week before the tournament. "I wanted to be fully acclimatised to the conditions in Scotland," said Randhawa, who was accompanied by wife Tina and cousin Bunty. They moved into a country house about 25 minutes from the Royal Troon. Practice rounds, walks and the calm atmosphere ensured that he was in perfect shape.
There were some tense moments though. The first day saw him return a card of two-over 73. On the second day, amidst talk that the cut might come at two-over, Randhawa was very much in the picture. He was three-under for the second day after first nine and had a total of one-under.
All comfortably placed at that stage. Then came the tension. He double bogeyed the 12th and he was now one-over. Still okay. The 17th went for a bogey and at two-over, it was the edge. The 18th also ended in a bogey for a three-over total. Then the agonising wait.
"I was still not sure whether I made the cut. Only when I returned to the tent with my card that I learnt the cut was three-over. I was on the bubble (exact cut mark). That came as a huge relief and I decided to go all out in the last two rounds to go for a good finish. I am glad I did well enough to get into top 30."
The third day was his best at one-under 70 with three birdies and one bogey. On the final day, he was once again cruising at one-under after nine before he had two bogeys on tenth and 12th. Thereafter, he held his nerve and parred the last six holes in a row and ended at 73 for the day and three-over for the tournament.
His hosts at the country house had a cake waiting for him. "The day the tournament got over, Patty had a cake waiting for us at home. The cake read 'Welcome to the Troon and good luck'. I was really touched and proud to have made such wonderful friends," recalled Randhawa, of the momentous British Open 2004.
About 30,000 people cheered and clapped as Randhawa came to the green at the 18th on the final day. "It was unbelievable. That's when I realised why this is such a great tournament," he said . Randhawa, meanwhile, is looking forward to the US PGA Tour invitation in August. "Now I want to get to the US PGA Tour."
