If 2009 was the year Indian golf came of age with Arjun Atwal’s wire-to-wire nail biting win at the Wyndham Championship. The year 2016 was when Indian golf matured and grew like a fine wine straight out of California. It is a bit like the horses when they first walk and then move on to the gait – before cantering and then finally galloping.

Each year, PGA Tour comes out with a list of the top 30 golfers to watch out in the next season. Ranked 77 in the world, Anirban Lahiri is now on this list clocking in at number 29. If memory serves correctly, no Indian has ever made this list ever, perhaps with the exception of Jeev Milkha Singh who did not spend enough time on the Tour – at least not enough to retain his card for the next season.

Making the cut

Lahiri played a full season on Tour this year, and for those unfamiliar with the lush greenery of the American tour it is like walking on a bed of nails, week in and week out. The scoreboard ticks with the monotony of a circus roller coaster. Everyone is in pursuit of the eternal American dream, think of a photograph of a massive cardboard check, and the smiling wife with the trophy.

Forget winning, the basic fundamental objective before that is surviving. Darwinism on the back nine come Friday afternoon when the field of 156 is cut in half for the weekend rounds. Pros slap themselves silly with putters in hope to play the weekend and move up on the money list. In a perishable environment as such, Lahiri has been the calm in the storm. While his fifth place finish at the PGA Championship back in 2015 might just be a memory now, confidence breeds confidence like an addictive drug that one can never get enough of.

At the CIMB Classic in Malaysia, Lahiri was a hair away from a win before a quadruple bogey and a charging Justin Thompson derailed his chances of becoming number two Indian on that solitary list with Atwal’s name. Heck, he played the President’s Cup and if it wasn’t for that one lipped out putt on the last, Chris Kirk wouldn’t be smiling in relief the way he was. In the bi-annual competition which has historically been one-sided as the Americans dominate all the time, it was heart wrenching to see the Internationals come so close to winning and that too with an Indian in the thick of things.

Third time lucky

In faraway Asia, Gaganjeet Bhullar witnessed a career resurgence of sorts. The last time Bhullar was seen in the limelight was when he began the 2009 season on a tear winning five events on the Indian tour before shooting 62,67 on the weekend to win in Indonesia. A few wins later which included another one in Indonesia in 2013 saw the good play dry up.

2016 was kind, two wins – first in Korea and then once again third time lucky in Indonesia (must be the rice) reminded us of the kind of play he is capable of. The Kapurthala boy is soft spoken, but hits a long ball and makes a ton of birdies when required.

Midnight putting leads to Open win

What can one say about good old Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia? From sneaking into the RCGC at midnight with a candle and a packet of biscuits, so he could putt all night to four runner-up finishes at The National Open he has come a long way.

The proverbial bridesmaid banished his demons and slam dunked his chip shot on the 13th during the 3rd round for the most important par of the tournament that saw his steady himself before calmly shooting a one-under on Sunday to bring back the Indian Open to the RCGC where he is welcome to practice at anytime including midnight. The magic didn’t stop there when he recorded his first overseas victory in Manila later in November putting aside any questions of his ability to record big wins only on home soil.

Age and experience on his side

Veteran Mukesh Kumar added another feather to his already illustrious career on the Indian tour winning his first title on the Asian Tour in 2016 as well at the cash-rich Panasonic Open held at the Delhi Golf Club. At 51 his career has only just begun and one can expect him to play a full season next year in Asia.

Shamim Khan maybe leading the money list on the PGTI tour with the final round of the TATA Open yet to commence, which leaves the TOUR Championship left to be played at the RCGC in Calcutta during the Christmas week. It remains to be to seen whether his consistent play will reward him with the “Order of Merit” or will the young guns in Khalin Joshi, Honey Baisoya, Shubhankar Sharma or even S Chikkarangappa can catch him (you can see how long the list is of the young Indian pros yet to play outside regularly).

What else can one say? From the days of Prem Gopal “Biloo” Sethi golf has come a long way in a country where the game is still considered elitist in large parts. Slowly but surely, the years have brought with it mounting achievements enough to fill large pages of musty history books – the current crop is doing more than just its bit to add to that as well.

As the world moves closer to the year 2017, Indian Golf fanatics would look up to the likes of Anirban Lahiri and SSP Chawrasia to continue their surge in the world of golf.

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