More emerging Indian golfers turn influencers

CHENNAI: A couple of days ago, a scene familiar to Chennai golfers was panning out – only it was happening half-way across the globe and at one of the marquee events on the golf calendar.

Day Two of the Augusta Masters was hit by a storm with trees falling and play having to be suspended. As per official reports, “three trees were blown over to the left of the No.17 tee due to wind”, which is nothing compared to what the course maintenance staff at the Cosmo TNGF handle every year.

The Augusta crew began work almost immediately in order to be prepared for an early start on Day Three, which would see the unfinished second round being completed first.

McIlroy fails to make the cut:

The storm was only adding some side lights to the drama already unfolding at the tony Augusta. Rory McIlroy, one of the pre-tournament favourites, had played himself out of contention before the storm struck.

His travails were mirrored by the defending champion and World No.1, Scottie Scheffler, who shot a poor three over on Day Two to be 11 shots adrift of the leader Brooks Koepka. Jon Rahm, who started falteringly with a double bogey on hole 1 on Day One, raised his game to end up at No.2 on Day Two, with nine holes to go.

While Koepka’s masterful display gave him a commanding lead, the showpiece performance was from the 23-year-old amateur Sam Bennett, who played wonderfully to end at 8 under, a record in 33 years. By Day Two, Tiger Woods was hanging in there, at plus two with four more holes to complete from the suspended round and expected to make the cut.

Sahith Reddy Theegala, the PIO acknowledged by the commentators of the Masters tournament as ‘a golfer to watch’, put up a good show. Making his Masters debut, he put up a reasonable show on Day One, ending Tied-44. Day Two saw him revving up and at Tied-22, he was at two under when play was suspended.

His positive attitude was also noticed by the experts. Theegala’s performance is bound to inspire more Indians to take up the game of golf. Already, a number of youngsters have been inspired by the performances of the India-born pros Aditi Ashok, Shubhankar Sharma and Anirban Lahiri. Lately, Megha Ganne, another PIO, has been making waves, as an amateur golfer in the USA. It is expected that more will join the ranks.

Junior golf on upswing: Given the high level of interest generated by many golfers, it is all but natural that more youngsters would take up the sport. This is already happening in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Coimbatore, to name a few.

The Madras Gymkhana Club (MGC) Golf annexe, one of the oldest functional golf courses in the world, this week launched a laudable initiative to enable youngsters to take up the sport. A summer camp will be organised from April 17 to 28 to renew its efforts to bring youngsters to the game. The camp is open to one and all: one does not have to be a golf member of the MGC.

A demo event was held on Friday (April 7) to kick-start the same and was well attended by over 20 youngsters in the age group of eight to 18. Young local pros, Shiv Naren and Oviya Reddy, were also present and readily answered the numerous questions and doubts raised by the attendees.

Why play golf: One might wonder why one should play golf. Ishwar

Achanta, internationally renowned golf administrator, once said: “It builds character, teaches one to be innately honest and strengthens one’s resolve to pick oneself up and give it a go when life turns hard.” What more can one wish for a youngster?

(The writer is an avid golfer)