BENGALURU: There was a time when Indian golfers, despite performing well in the country, failed to live up to their expectations on foreign soil. But the scenario has slowly changed over the last few years. While Anirban Lahiri and Arjun Atwal have impressed on the PGA Tour, SSP Chawrasia has been a bright spot for India at the Asian level. The future looks bright too, as number of youngsters have made merry in the top golf events in the country. Players like S Chikkarangappa, Khalin Joshi, and Rashid Khan are all coming through the ranks to challenge the current leaders.
Among them, Chikkarangappa has already proved his worth winning two ADT events and a few premier PGTI events. After that, it’s 24-year-old Khalin Joshi, who has challenged his dominance. A product of Karnataka Golf Association (KGA), Joshi turned pro in 2013 after spending previous two season as country’s top amateur golfer. Since then, he has won multiple PGTI events and is currently placed third in the PGTI Order of Merit list.
Joshi said the golf environment in the city had helped him develop and challenge top national golfers. “KGA and its members have been supportive. We have a great golf course here and there are many other golf courses in the city. So it helps you to develop your game,” he said. “Since there are other players from the city, it helps you compete against each other. We push our limits at this course.”
However barring domestic success, he is yet to prove his worth on the Asian Tour. So far, he has managed only four top-10 finishes. But he is slowly getting into the mix. In the TAKE Solutions Masters, he was not the favourite and neither was he expected to be in the top 5. But at his home course on Friday, he bossed over the windy conditions and was placed second with seven-under 64 at the end of second round, behind leader Poom Saksansin of Thailand (11 under).
After finishing with three-under 68 on the first day, he struggled with his drive and putt on Friday. But despite starting with a bogey on the second hole, he slowly gained control. He birdied fifth, eighth, 10th, 11th, 13th and 14th to finish second.
“It has been a difficult day. The condition was windy with direction changing constantly. You cannot be decisive about the club and then I was struggling with my drive and putt. But I think I managed well and played simple shots,” Joshi said.
krishnendu@newindianexpress.com
Leaderboard (top 5): 1. Poom Saksansin (-11, THA), 2. Khalin Joshi (-7, IND), T3. -6 Sujjan Singh, Viraj Madappa, Rahil Gangjee, S Chikkarangappa (IND), Rory Hie (INA).