Avantha Masters

February 12th, 2010

The European Tour makes only its third ever trip to India for this week’s Avantha Masters at the DFL Golf & Country Club in the hustling, bustling capital city of New Dehli. Whilst India isn’t the first name that springs to mind when you mention the game of golf it is certainly one of the world’s emerging golf markets and more and more professional players are starting to emerge from the country, the likes of Jeev Milkha Singh, Shiv Kapur and Jyoti Rhandawa probably being the most recognisable of these.

One name from India that you may not yet be familiar with is that of Gaganjeet Bhullar. Gaganjeet is currently ranked 115th on the Official World Golf Rankings and this week makes a rare European Tour start at the Avantha Masters. The Titleist Ambassador plays the majority of his golf on the Asian Tour and last week tasted victory in fine style at the Asian Tour International Trophy where he closed with a course record 64 (-8) to take the title by a single stroke. At just 21 years of age the future looks bright for Gaganjeet and he will be keen to cut his teeth on the European Tour and build on a bright start to his career on the worldwide professional Tours. Congratulations to Gaganjeet on last week’s win, we look forward to seeing more of him on the European Tour in the years to come.

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Another player making a start on the European Tour this week is current Challenge Tour player Lee Slattery. Lee dropped back to the Challenge Tour having failed to keep his card in 2009 but will still receive a number of starts on the European Tour in 2010 thanks to his category 12 exemption courtesy of a 136th place finish on the inaugural Race to Dubai. Lee received a late invite to this week’s Avantha Masters which he was understandably keen to take but there was one small issue, his irons and wedges, which did not conform to the new R&A groove regulations. However, the Titleist Tour Team is always on a heightened state of readiness in case of such emergencies and Lee was soon in possession of a brand new set of Titleist CB irons and two Vokey Spin Milled C-C wedges made to his specific requirements. Player and clubs seem to have immediately taken a liking to each other and two solid opening rounds of 70 (-2) and 69 (-3) have Lee inside the top-20 places on the leaderboard and in position for a strong finish. Lee was Challenge Tour Order of Merit winner back in 2004 and will be looking for a similar year as he seeks to regain full European Tour playing privileges for 2011. One thing’s for sure, he will certainly have Titleist on his side in 2010 as his new irons and wedges may soon be joined by new 909 metals which are waiting for Lee on his return from India. We wish him all the very best for the season.

Lee Slattery

Model: Titleist CB
Composition: 2-PW
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S300
Length: +1/4” (#6 Iron @ 37.75”)
Lie: Std (#6 Iron @ 62.5°)
Loft: 1° Strong (#6 Iron @ 30°)
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet .580 Round (+1/64”)
Swingweight: D3

Model: Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C
Loft / Bounce: 52.08 & 58.08
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
Length: Std
Lie: Std
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet .580 Round (+1/64”)
Swingweight: 52° @ D3, 58° @ D5

Model: Titleist 909D2
Loft: 9.5°
Shaft: Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Whiteboard 73 X-Flex
Length: 44.5”
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet .580 Round (+1/64”)
Swingweight: D3

Model: Titleist 909F2
Loft: 13.5°
Shaft: Titleist Speeder Fairway by Fujikura X-Flex
Length: 43”
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet .580 Round (+1/64”)
Swingweight: D3

Model: Titleist 909H
Loft: 17°
Shaft: Aldila NV-85 Hybrid X-Flex
Length: 41”
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet .580 Round (+1/64”)
Swingweight: D3

Next week sees a break in European Tour action as the world’s top players head to Arizona for the WGC Accenture World Match Play Championship. With $8.5 million to play for the competition will be intense and a number of Titleist Ambassadors, including new world #2 Steve Stricker, recent Qatar Master Champion Robert Karlsson and current world #7 Rory McIlroy will be among the favourites to contend. The Blog will be back in early March from the Malaysian capital city of Kuala Lumpar for the Maybank Malaysian Open but for now it’s goodbye from New Dehli.

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