CHENNAI: When Rahil Gangjee heard that he would be appearing at the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, he took a few moments to compose himself. He was fulfilling a long-held dream of playing a tournament on the PGA Tour.
So how does the 40-year-old, fresh from a T75 finish in Malaysia, view the experience? Amazing is the word he uses. “It was awesome, a completely different experience from whatever I had been used to,” he told Express. “I had played with a few of those players on the Web.com Tour (a developmental tour for the PGA Tour) but that’s completely different.”
However, the player, who was eligible to participate there because of his lofty position on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, was brutally honest when speaking about the differences between his standing and the likes of Marc Leishman, who won the tournament. “Those guys hit really, really long when compared to me. From the T, almost all of them have an advantage of 40m to 50m on me. The main thing is I know I won’t be competitive enough so there really is no point. The other thing is their build and mine. Most of the guys are 6’2” (Gangjee is about 5’5”) and can strike the ball cleanly. I know I cannot do that.”
However, the Kolkata player isn’t too disheartened with life at the moment. In fact, 2018 has been a bit of an annus mirabilis for him. He won a meet on the Asian Tour (Panasonic Open in Japan), his first after 14 years. He also got a Japan Open card. It’s for this reason that he is quite sated at the moment.“I plan to stick to the Asian Tour at the moment,” he said. “I also have my card to play in the Japanese Tour and I would like to play there for the time being. I like the people, the courses and the comfort level it offers from a financial perspective.”
But the World No 377, who played on the Web.com Tour in 2011 and 2012, understands why India’s next generation may not seek to stay on the Asian Tour. “Forget Shubhankar Sharma, I have heard that many upcoming Indian golfers want to progress through the levels very quickly to play on the PGA and that is obviously a welcome development.” He also agrees with the assertion that Indian golf is in a good mental space at the moment, the feeling somewhat accentuated by the fact that CIMB Classic also witnessed four Indians (Anirban Lahiri, Shubhankar and Gaganjeet Bhullar being the others) playing on a PGA Tour meet for the first time ever.Not just Indian golf but Gangjee too.
Know Gangjee
DOB: Oct 2, 1978
Turned pro: 2001
Tours: Asian Tour, Japan Tour
Asian Tour wins: Two (Volkswagen Masters 2004, Panasonic Open 2018)
Plays on the PGTI now and then, has won one meet this year (Louis Philippe Cup, Bengaluru)
swaroop@newindianexpress.com