He is, at #25, the highest-ranked golfer to participate in the Hero Indian Open since Colin Montgomerie of Scotland, who was ranked 16th when he competed at Delhi Golf Club in 2006.
Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello battled it out on the challenging DLF Golf & Country Club for the 53rd edition of our national open to finish a creditable tied fifth on a course which instilled fear in the minds of many prominent names with its undulations, deep bunkers and large water bodies cutting into fairways. Rafa exclusively spoke to Golf Digest India on a variety of topics from his targets in 2017, his fitness regime and his Ryder Cup experience to his opinion on top Indian golfers Anirban Lahiri and SSP Chawrasia. Excerpts from the interview:
GDI: How did you get into golf and who was your inspiration?
RCB: I got in to golf by chance. One day my uncle came to my parents’ house with a golf club and a plastic ball. He and my dad just started swinging in the back yard and obviously what happens to most people is that it looks easier than it really is. So my dad got into it. He fell in love with the complexity of golf. It’s not just a sport of… well, ultimately the aim is to hit a ball into a hole but around that there is this really passionate world and really intriguing sport. That’s what he enjoyed about it and we started – I say we because it’s my brother and sister as well – when we were very young going to a golf course that was close to home. It kept growing from then on… I grew up watching videos of Seve (Ballesteros), hearing tales of him as well. But the one thing that inspired me or got me dreaming of turning pro was watching Jose Maria Olazabal winning the Masters in 1994 and 1999.
GDI: Rafa what is it that you love about Asia?
This story is from the April 2017 edition of Golf Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2017 edition of Golf Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Sure Shot
Go with my slappy cut when you need to drive it in the short stuff
PGA TOUR, Its Tournaments Surpass $3 Billion In All-Time Charitable Giving
PGA TOUR player Gar y Woodland surprised Amy Bockerstette from Special Olympics Arizona last January with the opportunity to play the 16th hole together as part of his Waste Management Phoenix Open practice round. With a smile on her face and her can-do, “I got this” self-talk, Amy – the first collegiate golfer to compete with an intellectual disability such as Down syndrome – became an overnight sensation.
Hi-Life
To share news on your products or updates on new launches, please email amit@rnsportsmarketing.com
PAST, PRESENT CONVERGE FOR Rory McIlroy at THE PLAYERS
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – Rory McIlroy looked out beyond the famed island green at TPC Sawgrass.
Gaby Lopez Wins in second-longest play-off battle in the history of LPGA
With a 25 - foot birdie putt on the seventh playoff hole, Mexico’s Gaby Lopez captured the 2020 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions presented by Insurance Office of America.
Hee Young Park Wins ISPS Handa Vic Open In A Playoff
For the first time in 6 years, 6 months and 26 days, Hee Young Park is an LPGA Tour champion.
A Royal Golfing Tradition
Business leaders, industrialists and politicians alike got together for the prestigious, annual Madhavrao Scindia Golf Tournament on February 1.
Coronavirus Outbreak Affects Sports Schedule In Asia
January 2020 started with the news of a Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak — with Wuhan, China as the epicentre. The communicable virus has, since then, claimed thousands of lives and spread to other parts of the world. On January 30, the World Health Organization declared Coronavirus a global emergency and asked people to take necessary precautions to safeguard themselves from this dangerous virus.
Play Like a Kid Again
What adults can learn from the best little tournament players in the world.
Rising Star
Rayhan Thomas is not just the first amateur golfer to win a MENA Tour event. He’s also a poster boy for the future of golf in both India and the Middle East. In this exclusive interview with one of the most likeable and focused teenagers you could ever meet, Thomas talks pressure playoffs, his love of yoga and the sacrifices required to become one of the best 16-year-old golfers on the planet.
