Dubai, Feb 3: The field will boast of European tour's cream de la cream but Shiv Kapur reckons fellow Indian Jyoti Randhawa maybe the man to beat in the Indian Masters, which gets underway at the Delhi Golf Club later this week.

DGC has been a happy hunting ground for Randhawa, who knows the course like the back of his palm and Shiv, currently teeing up in the Dubai Desert Classic, believes the lanky golfer would lead the indian challenge in the European Tour event.

"If you ask me, Jyoti could be the man to beat," said Shiv.

"He has won four to five times at the Delhi Golf Club and exactly knows what it takes to win there," he said.

Randhawa has hardly ever returned empty-handed from the dgc, which saw him lifting his record-equalling third Indian open title last year.

Apart from Randhawa, Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal and Shiv himself would be spearheading the Indian challenge in the USD 2.5 million event.

The line-up for the event will include the likes of Ernie Els, Thomas Bjorn and David Howell but Shiv said he would not be surprised if an Indian walks away with the title.

"If an Indian goes on to win the event, it won't be a surprise. It will be a reflection on the rising standards of our golf," he said.

On his own form, Shiv has reasons to feel confident as his early season blues are over and the swing is back.

"It's going to be great fun to play on our home course and I am looking forward to it," he said.

"The rust is now out of the way. I have played well in Qatar Masters and the Dubai Desert Classic, something which shows I am striking the ball well and my rhythm is back," he said.

Excited as European tour touches down on the country, Shiv said, "A European tour event coming to India is a big thing for our golf. It will provide Indian players a great opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the best players in the world. I am pretty confident of Indian players giving a good account of themselves. They know the course well and that certainly will be an advantage," said Kapur who finished tied 47 in Qatar.

Sharing the fifth slot with tiger woods after the penultimate round in the Dubai Desert Classic, Shiv looked awestruck by the iconic American.

"It would have been a dream-come-true kind of stuff if I had paired with tiger, but I am still happy to finish on the same score as that of the world number one. Tiger is simply awesome," said a beaming Shiv.