Daniel Chopra

[ajay]

Good day for Daniel. He is (T4) and 6 stroke behind from the leader. He is in line for a top 5 finish. But winning this tournament, although not ruled out, is difficult and needs lady luck. What I'm looking forward in this tournament is that he should be back in top 20 and it is quiet possible. Among the other players I'm watching in this tournament, Tidland, (3rd) is leading him just by one stroke. Hopefully tomorrow Daniel will beat him too.

[ajay]

Daniel lost little ground on the leaderboard as he needed better than -1 to finish in top 5. He finally finished T9. Duffner overtook him and is sure to overtake Daniel in the money list. Daniel will probably over take Tjaart van der Walt but he will remain 21st. But good thing is that he is back in the group of now 7 golfers with in range of $12,000 who are contesting as I think last 5 spots. Race is getting hot and I hope BSharma's prediction comes true and Daniel wins in TX. A top 3 position in any remaining tournament will put to rest any doubts on PGA card.

[BSharma]

The 17th hole was Daniel's biggest enemy as he bogeyed it on 3 out of 4 days. A top three finish would be great but I have a feeling that he is going to end the Nationwide Tour on a high notr by winning in Midland, Texas (Oct 16-19).

[jayakris]

I wonder Daniel is aware of a bunch of us diehard fans following him oh-so-closely here!

Go guy..

Jay

[ajay]

I have earlier alerted him about our fan club forum but I don't know if he has visited this site or not. I've congratulated him on behalf of this forum for his yet another top 10 performance.

Update: Yes, he has visited this forum, and he knows about this fan club.

I'm sure if he can secure his card early, he may skip rest of the nationwide tournament and participate in some APGA/EPGA (jontly hosted) tournaments that are coming up soon. By the way Daniel is in top 10 in the money list of APGA also.

[kathiresan_v]

Ajay..good work, how did u know Daniel has visited our forum?

Kathir

[ajay]

I came to know that Daniel was disturbed by hecklers on the last day who were yelleing at him on his backswing. I'm so mad about this I can't understand what do they get by doing this? It is so unfortunate. Can't they see that how hard these golfers are trying and so much is on stake for them. #$%#$%#

[BSharma]

I agree with you Ajay that heckling has no place in professional golf. These idiots should be kicked out of the golf course.

[ajay]

Kathir,
Thanks. And Thanks to BSharma too as he is also doing great job on this forum. Plus thanks to Dhruv and all other participants to keep forum lively.

[ajay]

Daniel had a good start, but he fumbled on the way and finished two over par (74). The first half was bogiless, with a birdie on 3rd. He started the 2nd half on a great not with a birdie on 10th hole, but soon he lost track as he bogied 12 and then double bogied the next hole. His misery didn't stopped there as he double bogied on the 16th hole again. Finally on 18 he recoved one shot with a birdie. Looks like he will finish in 80's. He will have to fire up tomorrow to make the cut. I guess cut will be at +1.

Jeev seems to be doing good but just now he double bogied and he is back to even after 12 holes.

[BSharma]

OUCH! Daniel had a 10 over par round of 82 and failed to make the cut. Something went terribly wrong for him today. He double bogeyed the 2nd and 9th holes and triple bogeyed the 4th hole. He had four other bogeys and one birdie. He was leading the Nationwide Tour in the number of consecutive cuts made and now he falters when the pressure is high to get into the top 20 money list to qualify for PGA Tour Card for 2004. I wonder if he is healthy or not.

I hope he now wins the Texas event and make it into the PGA Tour next year.

[ajay]

Daniel started on the back nine, and by the time he turned over, he was +4. I guess then he tried to be aggressive and took chances on the front nine, so that he can make a come back and the cut, but it probably backfired. Don't forget that the course was tough and ultimately the cut was at +3.
So he gets two extra days to rest, which may probably help him.
I'll keep a watch on other golfers who are in contention. Most probably he'll still remain on 21st position after this tournament.

[ajay]

Some quotes from Daniel - exclusively for this forum

On 2nd day performance in Monterey when he missed the cut.

I am fine it was just a bad day on a tough course that I do not like very much, It just does not fit my game very well.

How does he view the challange of securing PGA card right now?

In order for me to secure my PGA Tour card for next year I will have to play very well in my last few events as all the guys from 15-23 on the moneylist are playing well, however if I am successful it will feel even more satisfying since I would have done something positive in the crunch!

How does he prepare for a tournament week after week?

It is not physically demanding to play four rounds but if you are in contention it can be mentally tough! I will not do anything special before a tournament I will play in the Pro-Am on wednesday which will double as my Practice round for the tournament!

[BSharma]

Thanks Ajay for the "exclusive" .

Ajay, can you arrange for a chat with Daniel if Jay and Dhruv can work out the logistics?

[BSharma]

Money list : (October 5th, 2003)

Daniel remains at 21st place ($149,024). Jason Dufner at 20th place has won $154,330. The 17th ranked golfer has won about $11,000 more than Daniel. Daniel did not lose ground ranking-wise by not making the cut in the last tournament but will have to make more money in the remaining tournaments to finish safely in the top 20 to get the PGA Tour card in 2004.

Scott Gutschewski won the last tournament and moved from 65th to 23rd place on the money list! This is one reason why Ajay and the rest of the golf fans want Daniel to win a tournament (or finish in the top 3) to safely get into the top 20.