I can do better things than golf: Shah Rukh Khan
- IndiaGlitz, [Monday,August 02 2004]
It was an afternoon of sun, fun and golf as a host of celebrities strutted the greens to kick off Tag Heuer's Speed Golf tournament Saturday.
"I have done better than this," said actor Shah Rukh Khan, the brand ambassador for Tag Heuer, as he swung his third wild shot. The ball shot past its intended destination, much to the despair of a cluster of onlookers.
"I'm telling you, there are other things I have done better than this," he muttered again as he picked his putter for another attempt.
Dressed all in white, Khan was playing obstacle golf at Gurgaon's sprawling DLF Golf House lawns.
Lined with slender Persian pots, which acted as the 'obstacles', the idea was to direct the ball in between the pots to a single hole at the end of the field.
And true to his famous "Khan forte", he kept the crowd enrapt with many a farfetched tale and smart crack.
"I have had a long history with golf," he went on. "My father-in-law was a golfer, and he asked me if I too played golf. So I told him that I have played hockey and asked him if the two were similar in any way.
"He has never spoken to me after that," he said flaunting the famous dimpled smile.
All the while, the guards on duty judiciously moved the onlookers every time Khan picked up his putter for the next shot.
"He is doing it for the first time," they cautioned.
"Wonder where the ball will go now! God save us, and it is not our fault if anything happens," they laughed to themselves.
"But then best thing about golf is," continued Khan unabashedly, "now I can say things like 'I like your putter, man', without having people glare at me."
Some of the other celebrities who tried a hand at golf Saturday, included film actor Suresh Oberoi, former cricketers Kapil Dev and Atul Walsan and model Manpreet Brar.
They played with a group of 100 professional golfers, including former national women's champion Nonita Lal, to pitch for the honor of meeting golf icon Tiger Woods in Boston and to play the 2004 Deutshe Bank PGA Championship with him.
The Swiss company has already chosen former cricketer Kapil Dev as one of the representatives from India.
"Tag Heuer has always been a company for sports. This new event will give talented Indian golfers the opportunity to meet world no 1," said an official of Tag Heuer, which is in partnership with Woods to produce the world's first "true golf watch".