Shiv Kapur diary: It looks like I had saved my best for the last round

Saturday’s last round saw me shoot my best round of the week, 12 points, for a total of 28 points, in the $750,000 Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge, co-sanctioned by both the Asian Tour and the Ladies European Tour (LET).

I started on Tee 10 and had five birdies: four in a row from 13 to 16 and another on 18 to turn in 10 points. Bogeys followed on holes 2 and 5, but I finished strongly with more birdies on holes 8 and 9 to finish overall in tied 33rd place, winning $5,400 for my week’s work.

Only five players beat my final round score.

Friend of Dubai, Meghan MacLaren (Eng), finished tied with me, also on 33 points, and I suppose I beat her by virtue of a better final round!

I decided to be more aggressive as the week went on and I hit driver, wherever I could, but on three holes of the Siam Country Club in Thailand, it is just not the play, nor the short holes!

The 33-year-old winner was American Sihwan Kim (Asian Tour), who shot a total of 49 points to win by two points from Maja Stark (Sweden) from the LET.

This is Kim’s second win on the Asian Tour in six weeks.

To the organisers who set up the golf course, you did pretty well with two of the first three players from the LET, and in the top 10 a mix of seven Asian Tour players and three LET players.

I feel the Modified Stableford Scoring format is exciting and very different for both the players and the fans, as long as it is played just a few times a season. Innovation is healthy, but not every week.

This week’s tournament is complete, unusual as it a Saturday final day. I now fly back home to Dubai and my next stop is in Korea in two weeks’ time at The 41st GS Caltex Maekyung Open at Namseaul Country Club and then onto Slaley Hall for the International Series–England tournament.

Thanks as usual for all your support and see you all soon!

- Shiv Kapur is a 40-year-old professional who plays on the Asian Tour and is a multiple winner. Shiv is a Dubai Golden Visa awardee and lives in Dubai with his family.