Golfer Shiv feels he is close to his best after liver surgery

New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) Indian golfer Shiv Kapur is hopeful of making 2017 a successful year as he feels being back to his best shape after undergoing a liver surgery last year.

The 34-year-old made his comeback in the middle of December after a nearly three-month injury-induced lay-off. He has played a few tournaments with mixed results.

"I had an abscess at my liver. It went undiagnosed and instead I was treated for viral infection in Europe. And when I came to India, it was diagnosed properly. It took a lot of time to heel," Shiv on Wednesday said, on the sidelines of the launch of 2017 Hero Indian Open.

"Afterwards, rehab process followed and as you spend a month on the bed, the body doesn't feel the same. Then I did strengthening procedures and went to the gym to get the muscles back and firing again with energy," the 2002 Asian Games gold medallist added.

"When you make a comeback after such a period, there is a lot of frustration and a lot of anxiety. The body doesn't feel the same, as did the (golf) swing. I started to feel good in mid-December around the Hong Kong Open and the McLeod Russell Championship in Kolkata (December 22-25). Now, I am close to being back to best shape."

Shiv also said that at the Indian Open in March, he will be at an advantage due to his familiarity of the newly-designed Gary Player Course at the DLF Golf & Country Club.

"I practice there. It's a newly-laid out course so people will take a couple of days to figure out. Moreover, compared to the Delhi Golf Club (DGC), which is one-dimensional and players know that hitting the ball to the fairways is the key, the DLF is a tricky course," Shiv said.

He added: "You have to have everything working for you to win at DLF. It requires a complete game to do well. And while DGC is soft and narrow, DLF is hard and bouncy. The greens are sloppy and it's a long golf course. So, it will be tough for Indian golfers, especially."