Bigger and better
Written By
Kumar Shyam
| Updated:
The Indian golf scene on the world map is witnessing a snowballing effect, much to the delight of the lesser-known professionals more than the bigwigs.
Three events on the trot in February, one couldn’t have asked for more
MUMBAI: The Indian golf scene on the world map is witnessing a snowballing effect, much to the delight of the lesser-known professionals more than the bigwigs.
With just one event — the Indian Open — through the whole year, suddenly, the golfing calendar has spawned into four prestigious events this year with another one on the Ladies European Tour that was held late last year. Three of the new additions will be played in February alone, in New Delhi and its vicinity.
The Indian Masters (Feb 7-10) will be followed by the SAIL Open (Feb 20-23) and end with the prestigious Johnie Walker Championship, which revolves across the Asia-Oceania continent and will perch in India this year. Suddenly, India is only second behind China in terms of the number of tournaments.
For long, instances of golfers achieving fame has been sporadic and limited to the likes of Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Gaurav Ghei and Shiv Kapur only because most of the others have constrained themselves to very limited exposure even in Asia. As Mukesh Kumar, a caddy-turned-pro, says: “We never had that money to invest or risk while playing abroad. So it is a very good sign for us.”
It is another thing, that the trigger for at least two of the events was the rivalry and egos of two sponsors and two promoters.
The ball set rolling when EMAAR tied up with the European Tour to have an event in India and promoted by golfinDubai. They bypassed the PGTI, the Indian players’ body, in doing so but compensated with 25 slots compared to the given 4-5 for the local pros.
Not to be left behind and with a few slots left in the Asian Tour calendar, the SAIL
Open was hurriedly organised and announced on Monday even though the complete sponsors are yet to come on board and the players intimated already.
The venue, Jaypee Greens, belongs to co-sponsor Jaypee Group, also into real estate like EMAAR.
Soon, organizers of Johnie Walker also realised that huge potential of Indian makets have yet to be tapped. The golfers are not complaining, of course. “It’s a historic moment for Indian golf and a great opportunity for all of us to showcase our talent on the global stage,” said Harmeet Kahlon, a seasoned Indian player.
Young and upstart Gaganjeet Bhullar also preferred to look at the brighter side. “It helps to have three events in a row since it allows players to get into rhythm. And that is very important for a golfer. The pressure is always there for any event, be it one or three,” said the 21-year-old. Incidentally, Bhullar has already got a wild card entry for the Johnie Walker event.
Coming from a small town like Kapurthala, these events hold a lot of promise and hence, arduous practice hours have gone into preparing for it. “The good part about it is that I can practice more in Kapurthala which has the best facilities and still not crowded,” adds Bhullar.
Mukesh, who hails from Mhow, a satellite town near Indore, has even decided to take part in a small time corporate event this week because it is at the Delhi Golf Club, the venue for the Indian Masters.
MUMBAI: The Indian golf scene on the world map is witnessing a snowballing effect, much to the delight of the lesser-known professionals more than the bigwigs.
With just one event — the Indian Open — through the whole year, suddenly, the golfing calendar has spawned into four prestigious events this year with another one on the Ladies European Tour that was held late last year. Three of the new additions will be played in February alone, in New Delhi and its vicinity.
The Indian Masters (Feb 7-10) will be followed by the SAIL Open (Feb 20-23) and end with the prestigious Johnie Walker Championship, which revolves across the Asia-Oceania continent and will perch in India this year. Suddenly, India is only second behind China in terms of the number of tournaments.
For long, instances of golfers achieving fame has been sporadic and limited to the likes of Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Gaurav Ghei and Shiv Kapur only because most of the others have constrained themselves to very limited exposure even in Asia. As Mukesh Kumar, a caddy-turned-pro, says: “We never had that money to invest or risk while playing abroad. So it is a very good sign for us.”
It is another thing, that the trigger for at least two of the events was the rivalry and egos of two sponsors and two promoters.
The ball set rolling when EMAAR tied up with the European Tour to have an event in India and promoted by golfinDubai. They bypassed the PGTI, the Indian players’ body, in doing so but compensated with 25 slots compared to the given 4-5 for the local pros.
Not to be left behind and with a few slots left in the Asian Tour calendar, the SAIL
Open was hurriedly organised and announced on Monday even though the complete sponsors are yet to come on board and the players intimated already.
The venue, Jaypee Greens, belongs to co-sponsor Jaypee Group, also into real estate like EMAAR.
Soon, organizers of Johnie Walker also realised that huge potential of Indian makets have yet to be tapped. The golfers are not complaining, of course. “It’s a historic moment for Indian golf and a great opportunity for all of us to showcase our talent on the global stage,” said Harmeet Kahlon, a seasoned Indian player.
Young and upstart Gaganjeet Bhullar also preferred to look at the brighter side. “It helps to have three events in a row since it allows players to get into rhythm. And that is very important for a golfer. The pressure is always there for any event, be it one or three,” said the 21-year-old. Incidentally, Bhullar has already got a wild card entry for the Johnie Walker event.
Coming from a small town like Kapurthala, these events hold a lot of promise and hence, arduous practice hours have gone into preparing for it. “The good part about it is that I can practice more in Kapurthala which has the best facilities and still not crowded,” adds Bhullar.
Mukesh, who hails from Mhow, a satellite town near Indore, has even decided to take part in a small time corporate event this week because it is at the Delhi Golf Club, the venue for the Indian Masters.