Pros, amateurs lock horns for Asian Games' berths

The Indian Golf Union has given discretionary spots to the country’s three leading players

Bengalureans S Chikkarangappa and Pranavi Urs will be keen to secure their Asian Games' ticket at the trials starting in KGA on Tuesday. Credit: DH Photo

India’s top amateur golfers will be slugging it out with the professionals for the three coveted Asian Games' slots when the trials for the Hangzhou bash tee off at the Karnataka Golf Association on Tuesday.

Normally, only amateur golfers would compete at the continental bash since the sport’s entry in 1982 but the Olympic Council of Asia decided to throw open the doors for even professionals now, a move that was widely welcomed. Each country can now send a seven-member contingent (four men and three women) consisting of both amateurs and professionals.

The Indian Golf Union, the national governing body which was forced to make changes to its selection policy, has given discretionary spots to the country’s three leading players and will be conducting the five-day trials to identify the remaining three members (2 men and 1 woman).

Anirban Lahiri, the country’s highest-ranked golfer who came close to securing a maiden PGA Tour title last month at the PLAYERS Championship, and Shubhankar Sharma, second highest ranked at 172, are the two male pros to earn the discretionary spots.

Aditi Ashok, the LPGA card holder who even made Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweet in appreciation following her sensational fourth place finish at the Tokyo Olympics last year, and talented Tvesa Malik have earned the two automatic berths for women.

The competition for the remaining three slots is set to be intense in both the men’s and women’s sections. Rashid Khan, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, leads the charge in the 16-member men’s field. Viraj Madappa, who won his maiden Asian Tour title at the same KGA course in 2018, will be looking to recreate the magic and button down one of the spots.

Expected to give the duo a tough run is S Chikkarangappa, the Bengalurean who calls KGA his ‘second’ home. Although Chikkarangappa learnt the game at the Eagleton Golf Resort, much of his wins in the junior and amateur circuit have come at the pristine KGA and he will be itching to turn the clock back.

Karandeep Kochhar, Veer Ahlawat, Udayan Mane, Khalin Joshi and gifted amateur Aryan Roopa Anand are others who are capable of punching their China tickets.

In the women’s competition, the spotlight will be on three women, pros Pranavi Urs, Hitaashee Bakshi and fast-rising teen sensation Avani Prashanth, an amateur.

Pranavi returned to the circuit this year following an injury but has picked up from where she left off, winning twice on the domestic circuit.

Hitaashee, another promising player, has also triumphed twice on the domestic circuit and comes to the KGA in good form. Hoping to make things difficult for Hitashee and Avani will be 15-year-old Avani who has been making heads turn with her sizzling performances. She has just returned from a tied-21 performance at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur – she was the first Indian to play in the event – and her confidence is high following the trip.

Although golfers will play five rounds, scores of the best four rounds will be considered for ranking.