Randhawa, Ghei want to take Indian Golf to new heights

Gurgaon, May 9 (UNI) For someone who is scaling new heights without the cushion of age on his side, one would think last fortnight's Beijing Open victor Gaurav Ghei will be a strong proponent of experience over age when it comes to a game dominated for long by the elite oldies.

That he doesn't go by the stylebook was amply clear when Ghei says, ''Its always nice to be on the right side of age.

Experience doesn't count for much with the way the youngsters play nowadays. They care a damn for past records.'' Lauding the up and coming young guns, Ghei added ''The youngsters shooting such great scores is fantastic....look at Ashok...he just shot a 19-under (Crompton Greaves Open) which is amazing. We never thought of coming up with such low scores earlier.'' After breaking into the top 200 in the world for the first time, an upbeat Ghei says, ''My aim now is to break into the top 100 and be among the top three in the Asian Order of Merit list.'' Ghei, who is placed eighth in the Asian list, is ranked 153rd following his Pine Valley Beijing Open victory, behind compatriots Jeev Milkha Singh (rank 54th) and Jyoti Randhawa (rank 77th).

Doing his bit for the growth and popularity of the game in India, ace golfer Jyoti Randhawa says, ''This is the nuturing stage. It's nice to see so many youngsters taking to the game now...it is very heartening.'' Although he has carved a name for himself and is making international headlines regularly, Randhawa said on the sidelines of a media briefing for tomorrow's DLF Masters at Gurgaon, ''It's great to come and play golf tournaments in the country. It's nice to see so many youngsters taking to the game now.'' That both Randhawa and Ghei wear their hearts on their sleeves is evident as they are all for more and more Indian Tours in the country to help the emerging Chowrasias and Gaganjeets compete at the PGAs and Masters in the near future.

Supported by the move of PGTI, of which both are directors, Randhawa adds, ''We started off from India and we will continue playing more tournaments here to lend our support.'' ''Hope it makes champions out of us,'' Randhawa said proudly.

On which youngsters he thinks are ready to turn on the heat, Randhawa said, ''There are about 10 to 11 guys in the circuit who now are on the fringes of breaking into the big league. Exciting times ahead.'' About his own sizzling run since last year, Randhawa's views were rather surprising. He says ''Golf is not the end all and be all for me. This feeling has taken a lot of pressure of me now. I think I have started playing better golf. Taking time off definitely helps.'' Ghei, however, said there was need to create the enthusiasm at the grassroot level and thinks the ''Indian Golf Union has not done enough for the game.'' ''As many kids start taking to the game ...there is greater need to make golf courses accessible to them,'' he said.

In fact, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) has increased the