Traversing a tragedy to take home a triumph

Chikka overcame the passing of his mother to win on the PGTI tour

In a year marked by the biggest loss he has experienced, golfer S Chikkarangappa turned adversity into a strength, claiming his biggest cheque on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Tour.

Just when Chikka was beginning to feel the rhythm after struggling for months, the sudden demise of his mother in June left the 29-year-old despondent.

“Everything collapsed and all the doors were suddenly shut. It felt like I had no path in front of me because she was the only reason and purpose I played this sport,” he expressed.

But ask athletes and they will tell you that it is the most vulnerable moments that inspire them to chase dreams with more vigour. And it was no different for the seasoned-pro from Bengaluru.

Carding scores of 66-71-62-69, Chikka finished 20-under 268 to win the season-ending TATA Steel Tour Championship in Jamshedpur last week to collect a whopping Rs 45 lakh winners' cheque.

He won his 15th title on the PGTI and an overall 16th professional win at the richest-ever event on the men’s Indian Tour.

“Though I haven’t come to terms with the tragedy yet, I realised that I couldn’t afford to lose the only other thing I love the most, which is golf. This is what I do and it is what I do best. I started enjoying my time on the golf course like I did when I began playing golf all over again. That was my cue,” he said.

That realisation and transition happened at the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational in October which is one of his favourite tournaments as it was in the same event in 2018 that broke the jinx of him not winning a title for over two years.

With a tough year ending on a positive note, Chikka hopes to carry forward the momentum into 2023.

A hectic schedule of almost eight weeks on the road beginning from February on the Asian Tour awaits the golfer. Before that, Chikka is off to Ahmedabad for a two-week training stint to fine-tune his game under coach Vijay Divecha. He will be accompanied by friend and fellow pro golfer Anirban Lahiri - someone he calls brother.

“It is high time I start getting better results on the Asian Tour. And I can finally feel that I'm closer to achieving that dream now than ever before. My point of view and approach has changed,” said Chikka, who is in search of his maiden win on the Asian Tour after making his debut in 2015.

Now, a victory in the shadow of a tragedy has given him a fresh perspective - perhaps what Chikka needs to make breakthroughs on bigger Tours.