It’s not often that an Indian girl takes up golf in her early teens. And it’s even rarer for a 15-year-old to rub shoulders with some of the top women golfers of the world. But Gauri Monga is not just another girl.
The teenager, who had a spectacular last season on the domestic amateur tour, has been invited to take part in Finland’s biggest golf tournament. Gauri will be one of seven amateurs from Asia to play at the August 28-30 Ladies European Tour Finnair Masters.
“It’s going to be a big event. But it’ll be fun playing with some of the big names. I have nothing to lose and that’ll take a lot of pressure off me,” Gauri told DNA from Helsinki.
Three years ago when Gauri first attended a golf camp in Delhi, she never thought of reaching so far. In fact, the sport hardly impressed her.
“I attended the camp but once it was over I wasn’t too keen on continuing,” she said. “I thought it was a sport for old people.”
But the boredom of the summer vacation got the better of her. Watching her mother Aashna and brother Arjun play golf, she slowly got attracted to the sport.
“The thing with golf is that once you get a hang of it, it’s difficult to leave,” she said.
2008 was the year when Gauri came of age on the amateur circuit, winning five titles.
She gave herself the biggest confidence booster, when she took the amateur title in the Asian tour-sanctioned Indian Open earlier this year and finishing a highly commendable 13th overall. Being an amateur, she won’t get any money in this 200,000 euros event but that doesn’t bother her. “It is the experience of playing in such a tournament that counts. Money doesn’t matter much,” she said.
Gauri, who will turn 16 in October, also captained her school basketball team before she took up golf. And like any other girl of her age, she likes to dress up and spend time shopping. “I make sure that I am well dressed before entering the golf course,” she chuckled.
But she is aware of the difficulties of taking up the sport professionally in the country. “Women’s golf is not popular in India. So unless it becomes more popular and there is more money, it becomes very difficult to take it up professionally. I’d rather focus on my studies,” said the standard X student.
