Sunday was disappointing, but good tidings are round the corner for Indian golf

From Gurugram to Korea, Indian golfers put themselves in contention going into the final round. They may not have won, but we need to laud the effort...

At the end of 54 holes at the LINKS Hong Kong Open, Anirban Lahiri was tied for the lead. What promised to be the end of an 11-year wait for a title turned into a nightmarish final round for the Indian as he slipped to tied 17th place.

Vani Kapoor at the Hero Women’s Indian Open. (LET Golf)

Back home, in the Hero Women’s Indian Open, Vani Kapoor led the field going into the final round at five-under par. Asian Games hero Pranavi Urs was not too far behind at -3. Despite a blistering start of four birdies in the first five holes, Vani could not maintain the momentum and finished runners-up.

And then there were two events in Korea – the BMW Ladies Championship on the LPGA and the Genesis Korea Championship on the DP World Tour – which had Aditi Ashok and Shubhankar Sharma in the mix. A win from any of them would have taken some miracle golf, but a good final round would have meant a lot to their seasons next year.

After opening with three straight rounds of 69, a 73 on Sunday dropped Aditi to tied 29th place. It helped her improve two positions to No72 in the Race to CME Globe standings, and she should keep her proud record of holding a full Category 2 LPGA card next season as well. And yet, she looked good for a bigger jump and get closer to No60, which is the cut-off for CME Globe Championship.

It finally clicked for him. Four solid rounds resulted in a tied 11th place – his best finish of the season outside India (where he has won two titles in the DP World-PGTI season). It also elevated him 27 places to No155 on the Race to Dubai. That does not give him a status on the DP World Tour, but he will be a Category 7 member on the HotelPlanner Tour. In any case, he will have to go through the Qualifying School to continue playing on the main tour.

Back to Lahiri, Sunday did not start well. He was informed of a one-shot penalty from the third round when he was deemed to have inadvertently moved his ball while chipping onto the 18th green. A double bogey on the tough opening hole of the Fanling course did not help either.

Anirban Lahiri at the Hong Kong Open.

At the DLF Golf & Country Club, Vani’s 70 would have won her the title on most days, but Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum played sensational golf for a bogey-free seven-under par 65. It was the tournament’s best round, and she would have been hard to catch.

The second place was Vani’s best finish ever in international events and it gives her a fighting chance to gain a full card on the LET, where she has moved to 69th in the Order of Merit.

There have been several disappointing messages on social media over the past couple of weeks (started with only six Indians making the cut at the DP World India Championship), but this Sunday, really, is a good omen of things to come.

Firstly, the fact that we have fans feeling disappointed and voicing their opinions, is good. It means they care. Players need to appreciate it and use it as motivation.

Secondly, we may not have won, but we put ourselves in a position to win. That is a massive thing in golf.

It is incredibly difficult to win in this sport, and even the world No1 Scottie Scheffler and No2 Rory McIlroy have won only four titles between them this year in 39 combined starts. In such a scenario, what becomes more important is how many times you are getting into contention. As they say, if you keep knocking on the door, it will either open for you, or you can break it.

It’s not just the established players who are coming into their own, there are also talents like the 13-year-old Ojaswini Saraswat. For her to shoot a three-under par 69 in Friday’s second round – the day’s joint best score – and make the cut was huge. Not only was this her first visit to the beastly DLF Golf & Country Club course, she also managed to make three birdies in her last three holes that day.