BENGALURU: One of India’s most promising golfers, Khalin Joshi knows how it feels to lose it all on the final day, having experienced that twice — once in the Basundhara Bangladesh Open in 2015 and in the TAKE Solutions Masters in 2017. And these are just on the Asian Tour. He finished in the same position thrice last year on the PGTI Tour as well.
On Sunday, at the Delhi Golf Club, he was determined to get the monkey off his back. Carding a four-under-68 on the final day, he did just that as he won the Panasonic Open, his maiden Asian Tour title after five years of hard work. Before heading to Delhi, he had finished in the Top 10 only thrice this year (including one on the PGTI Tour). While he had no problem with his swing, he needed to overcome his mental block.
On Sunday morning, it seemed like Joshi would choke again as he started the day with two bogeys in the first three holes. But he managed to hold on to his nerves and finished with a birdie each on the 17th and 18th.
“I think not winning a title was more to do with the mental side. My mind somehow would wander and I would lose focus on the last day. I paid more attention to how others were playing. On Sunday, the plan was simple – play your own game and don’t lose focus and I did just that,” said the 26-year-old. “It’s a great feeling to win my maiden Asian Tour title. I’ve been a professional for six years now and it’s been two years since I’ve won a tournament. To finally finish on top gives me great satisfaction.”
It was a difficult phase for Joshi as results did not come his way despite his best efforts. But the Kolkata-born Bengaluru resident remained patient and worked with coach Gaurav Diwan to overcome the last hurdle. “I had hit a slump in the last two months. I worked continuously with Diwan Ji. He helped me remove the mental block.”
Now that he has finally broken the jinx, Joshi aims to improve further and retain his European Tour card. “I still have a few big tournaments. The target is to finish well on the Asian Habitat for Humanity. The next few events that I’m going to play in are all European Tour co-sanctioned. My goal is to retain my card,” said Joshi, who is now at the top of PGTI Order of Merit.
krishnendu@newindianexpress.com