Emergence of five
FIRST TIME WINNERS ON PGTI
in 2019 & 2020 heightens expectations for future of Indian golf
The emergence of �ve �rst time
winners on the TATA Steel
PGTI (excluding co-sanctioned
international events) in 2019 and
2020 has heightened expectations
for the future of Indian golf.
Among the �ve golfers, all Indians, youth is
the common factor. While Kshitij Naveed
Kaul and Aadil Bedi joined the winner’s circle
as teenagers, both Veer Ahlawat and Priyanshu
Singh lifted their maiden trophies at the age
of 23. Abhinav Lohan was the oldest among
the lot when he broke the victory barrier at age
30 which is also considered young in gol�ng
terms.
Here is a recap of the maiden wins of
these �ve players.
Pune Open 2019
Teenaged rookie Kshitij Naveed Kaul of Delhi,
playing only his ninth event as a professional,
displayed maturity beyond his years to triumph
at the Pune Open Golf Championship 2019.
The 18-year-old Kaul shot scores of 69, 67,
66 and 67 to register a one-shot victory with a
total of 15-under-269 at the Poona Club Golf
Course.
Kshitij thus became the youngest rookie to
bag a title on the TATA Steel PGTI. He also
emerged as the third-youngest winner on the
tour after Karandeep Kochhar and Shubhankar
Sharma. Karandeep and Shubhankar had both
won on the PGTI as 17-year-olds.
Kaul said, “A win so early in my career is a
huge morale-booster. On day one, I incurred
a two-shot penalty after unintentionally hitting
some other player’s ball. But I didn’t let that
error affect my thought process. I think it was
this positive approach that �nally helped me
win.”
Kshitij Naveed Kaul - Pune Open 2019 champion
“A win so early in my career is a huge morale-booster. On day one, I incurred
a two-shot penalty after unintentionally hitting some other player’s ball. But I
didn’t let that error affect my thought process.”
Jaipur Open 2019
In what turned out to be a shootout between
two promising rookies and emerging names of
Indian golf, Gurugram-basedPriyanshu Singh
defeated Delhi’s Kshitij Naveed Kaul in a
playoff at the Jaipur Open 2019 to register his
maiden win.
Twenty-three-year-old Priyanshu (65-68-
63-65), the 2019 PGTI Qualifying School
champion, and 18-year-old Kshitij, a winner
on the PGTI this season, went into the playoff
after both ended the regulation 72 holes
with matching totals of 19-under-261 at the
magni�cent Rambagh Golf Club.
Priyanshu �nally came up with a tremendous
bunker shot during the playoff to set up a tapin
for victory.
Priyanshu said, “It’s special to win my �rst
title in my rookie season. I’ve had a pretty
consistent season. The experience of playing
in dif�cult conditions on the PGA Tour Series
in China earlier this year helped me a lot as
it magni�ed the things that I needed to focus
on.”
IndianOil Servo Masters
Golf 2019
Gurugram’s Veer Ahlawat lived up to his �rst
name ‘Veer’ which means ‘Brave’ in Hindi, as
he put up a brave display in the �nal round of
the IndianOil Servo Masters Golf 2019 to earn
58 GolfPlus JULY 2020