Johl hopes for elusive title in Amby Valley Masters

Mumbai, Mar 14 (UNI) Since making his debut 11 years ago, Amandeep Johl has been eluded by his maiden Asian Tour title and the former national champion hopes his search will finally come to end in May in the 300,000 dollar Amby Valley Masters.

One of the best strikers of the ball, 37-year-old Johl has been plagued by putting problems and he swapped the broomhandle putter, his companion for eight years, for a short one and finished tied second in the Pakistan Open in January.

Then came the tied 37th finish in the Maybank Malaysian Open but the ghost of the greens caught up again and he missed the cut at the Enjoy Jakarta HSBC Indonesia Open.

Baffled by his poor show on putting surfaces, Johl now carries both the putters in his bag.

''I had two very good tournaments with the short putter in Malaysia and Pakistan and then had a horrendous week in Indonesia,'' he said.

''Now, I'm carrying two putters in the bag, the broomhandle and the short one, and it's not good in the mind. It shows weakness. My game has come of age but the putting has been a letdown. It plays a negative role in the rest of the game. It's the age old problem of the yips,'' he explained.

Johl has his hopes pinned at the Amby Valley Sahara Lake City for the Amby Valley Masters, slated from May 11-14.

''Amby Valley suits my game, it's a ball strikers' golf course.

Whatever said and done, you need to putt well. You can't win if you are a weak putter as you need to put the ball in the cup. I'm just waiting for the day my confidence comes back,'' he said.

''The lesser I practice on the greens, the better I might be.

I wash away the negative thoughts that come in. It's a battle that I'm trying to win, and I will win but I just don't know when,'' he said.

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