Golf has seen its fair share of father-son duos. But to have two such pairs in the same field is probably stretching the imagination.
On Wednesday, Indian golf was witness to a bit of history when two father-son pairs took to the field at the PGTI Players Championship at Kolkata’s Tollygunge Club.
In the domestic golf circles, Indrajit and Udayjit Bhalotia are a well-established father-son duo. Still a junior, Udayjit has been playing with his father as an amateur on the PGTI circuit for some time now. This time though, they were joined by Feroz Ali Mollah and his son Imran on the field.
A local, Feroz is one of the most senior golfers on the circuit. When asked about his son though, he gushed in excitement like a rookie. “I always wanted him to play golf. That was always in the back of my mind. Both Imran and my younger son Irfan used to tag along with me to the RCGC so he was bound to play one day. But I never imagined I would be in the same field,” Feroz told HT after the first day’s play where, incidentally, both Indrajit and Udayjit were tied for the 51st position.
An MBA graduate, Imran said he wants to turn pro next year. “But I wanted to test myself in a PGTI event first before going for the qualification process. My first target here is to make the cut,” said Imran, who is tied 89th at five-over 70. Feroz is four-over. “It feels good to start well. But it feels unreal to think that my father is playing with me and is just around the corner. We are meeting at different intersections, talking to each other. It’s an amazing experience,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}An MBA graduate, Imran said he wants to turn pro next year. “But I wanted to test myself in a PGTI event first before going for the qualification process. My first target here is to make the cut,” said Imran, who is tied 89th at five-over 70. Feroz is four-over. “It feels good to start well. But it feels unreal to think that my father is playing with me and is just around the corner. We are meeting at different intersections, talking to each other. It’s an amazing experience,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Feroz too admitted that at times he was too distracted as a father instead of concentrating on his game. “The mind wavers,” he said. “I haven’t been able to give him time so I try to teach him some technical stuff. He was just ahead of me so I kept thinking what he was doing, how was he putting and things like that,” he said.
Feroz, though, is happy and proud that his son is trying to be like him. “He is following his own dream. I will let him play in his own style. There is no pressure. Let him learn from mistakes,” he said.