Many things to watch out for

Sayeed Sanadi

After an exceptionally good year when one saw Jeev Milkha Singh achieve unprecedented success and the others treading farther soils on the world golfing map, the Indians are all set to herald a new era.

After the success on the Asian, Japanese and the European Tours, 2007 will be a testing time for Jeev, who will be rubbing shoulders with the best in the world after earning an entry to all the four Majors by finishing 37th in the World Golf Rankings.

There was no doubt about his potential. It was just a matter of time and opportunity that could turn it into a success. It is always difficult to begin the season with a tag of the ‘Champion’ as the expectations are doubled. I hope and wish that Jeev lives up to his billing.

Arjun Atwal who became the first Indian to qualify for the US PGA Tour is recovering from a back injury.

After a successful 2005 season, the year 2006 saw him earning more than half-a-million dollars but that was not enough to retain a full card.

The Kolkatan will get a few starts on the PGA Tour and he will be looking for a repeat performance of 2005 where he finished 47th on the Order of Merit in just 18 starts.

It would be a testing time for Shiv Kapur too when he plays on the European Tour this
year.

This is after testing the waters in a couple of events last season while also being the only Indian to play the British Open.

Shiv has a full card on both the European and Asian Tours and would be looking for an early success to realize his dreams on playing on the biggest Tour — the PGA.

Likewise, Jyoti Randhawa who also has a card both on the European and the Asian Tours will be looking to resurrect his form. The other players to watch out will be Rahil Gangjee, a new-found form from Gaurav Ghei who won the Taiwan Mercuries Masters and the most-improved SSP Chowrasia who narrowly missed out on the ‘Rookie of the Year’ on the Asian Tour.

Also watch out for debutant Amardip Malik who has graduated from a successful amateur career and is the only Indian to have qualified for the 2007 season on the Asian Tour.

Seasoned players like Amandeep Johl and Harmeet Kahlon, who has a direct entry into the Dubai Desert Classic on the basis of his victory back home at the Emaar MGF PGTI Championship, will also be looking to seal a spot.

India’s No.1 from the past four years Mukesh Kumar and the most talented Ashok Kumar will also be looking to make a foray on the Asian Circuit.

On the domestic front it is heartening to note the multi-fold jump in the prize money, courtesy the newly launched Professional Golf Tour of India which promises close to Rs 5.5 crore.

I hope that this will only grow in time to come. As far as the stars to watch out for, it will be the two latest entrants — Chirag Kumar and Gaganjeet Bhullar, who after having proved themselves in the Amateur circuit and having won the team silver at the Doha Asian Games — have taken a plunge into professional circuit.

The highly talented duo made a decent start in their very first event in Bangalore and showed that they can be a force to reckon.

A good amateur circuit supported by a corporate sponsor Royal Challenge for the first time in the history of Indian golf has helped in the systematic conduct and also help hone enough talent that can be sustained even when the top rung graduate to the professional circuit.

A lot of exciting amateurs like Doha returned Anirban Lahiri and Joseph Chakola, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Rahul Bakshi, Amanjyot Singh who won the British Open Junior event, will be a bright prospect for the next Asian Games.

On the corporate sponsorship front, the list is being updated by the day as more and more of them are realising the value of golf sponsorship and I presume that Indian golf will be benefited hugely from their contribution as it is the corporate support that will take the game to greater heights.

The next year should also see the development of equipment technology that is helping the players drive to prodigious distances, thereby improving upon the scores.

With more and more designer courses being added, the players will get an opportunity to play on championship courses that will ease the pressure off them when they play abroad.

With the performances of Indian players at both the domestic and international level coupled with corporate sponsorship being encouraging to say the least, the game is surely skyrocketing and this is just the beginning!

The writer is Head (Media & Television), Tiger Sports Marketing