WHAT makes Indian golfers do well internationally? They have absolutely no support from the government or any of its arms which run sport. And yet, we have a veritable assembly line of golfers coming through. All this despite the government.
Somewhere, I reckon it is best to keep government out of sport. Look at the Commonwealth Games mess where the Indian Olympic Association office bearers are also functioning as the organising committee. While an apprehensive government seized of the crisis has sent handpicked bureaucrats to man key financial oversight positions, the free for all within is not expected to stop quickly. For there are too many power centres and too much money at stake. Anyway back to golf. I was watching the $ 7 million HSBC Shanghai Open and found that till the third round, Jyoti Randhawa stayed in the hunt battling golf’s big boys before he fell away to finish 19th. Jeev did worse and brought up the rear. Randhawa pocketed $ 72,000 for his efforts but it could have been a lot better for him if he hadn’t rolled down the leaderboard so dramatically in the final round.
However, what this means is that Randhawa has already earned $ 390,000 this season and is ranked fifth in the Asian Order of Merit. Gaganjeet Bhullar till the culmination of the $ 5 million Barclays Singapore Open, has earned $ 309,000, while $ 1.5 million Hero Honda Indian Open winner C Muniyappa has earned $ 220,000 and is ranked ninth on the Order of Merit. Young golfer Anirban Lahiri, who won the BILT Open on Sunday, is ranked 28th with $ 128,000. Last year’s Order of Merit was headed by Jeev Milkha Singh with earnings close to $ 1.5 million – $ 1,452,701. SSP Chowrasia was ranked sixth with earnings of $ 482,293 while Jyoti Randhawa was 11th with $ 334,563 and Gaurav Ghei was 23rd with $ 211,569. For 2007, Gaurav Ghei was the highest ranked Indian at number 10 with earnings of $ 261,057. At number 12 was Shiv Kapur with earnings of $ 239,000. Similarly in 2006, Jeev was the leader in the Order of Merit with earnings of $ 591,884 and Jyoti Randhawa was sixth with $ 301,728. If we take just Jyoti as an example, then over the last four years, his gross earnings from playing golf on the Asian tour are in the vicinity of a million dollars plus. For Jeev, it is in excess of $ 3 million over the last four years only.
It is clear that Indian golfers are involved in some serious big game hunting. The reason is simple, a system which is enlarging the gene pool with the passing of each season. A thriving amateur circuit has in many ways given way to a cash rich pro tour. So, while we continue to turn our cricketers into demi gods, it is our very unobtrusive golfers and tennis players who are earning big bucks in dollars. Leander Paes who has been slogging for the country for close to 20 years and is still not finished with the game has career earnings of $ 5,469,296 while Mahesh Bhupathi has career earnings of $ 4,895,318. I remember during his formative international years, Leander Paes telling me that he needed a sponsor to play regularly on the circuit. He needed to play the big pit stops and all this cost serious money. You cannot operate out of India and hope to become a champion in a competitive sport like tennis or golf. This is when he set up base in Orlando and if I remember right it was the Tatas who came forward to sponsor him. Indian sportspersons have the talent to go beyond our shores and perform on the world stage. The criticality of providing the necessary push lies with the private sector. Once the sportsperson begins to win, then he becomes self sufficient, but it is a long and arduous road. Need I say that all this happens despite the government.
Role models play an equally important role. Leander and Mahesh’s deeds and exploits are only now beginning to bear fruit with Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna coming through, but in golf it is diametrically opposite. And there is a reason for that. The widening and deepening of the game domestically in golf has opened up new vistas for players at home. Shiv Kapur, Jeev, Jyoti, Gaganijeet Bhullar, Himmat Rai, SSP Chowrasia, Gaurav Ghei, C Muniyappa and now the latest exciting sensation Anirban Lahiri.
Why has this happened? Simply because golf has money in India now. The Professional Golf Tour of India is a rewarding circuit. Under Avantha Group chairman Gautam Thapar’s helmsmanship, it is going great guns. Thapar, a passionate golfer himself like Hero Honda’s CEO and MD Pawan Munjal have given Indian golf a new direction. Both corporate honchos are backing their personal passion to sponsor the sport in a big way. The vibrant local circuit is now paying in spades for young local talent which is throwing up new stars with increasing regularity. Tennis on the other hand has a moribund domestic circuit. Unfortunately, we have not been able to leverage or monetise the success of Lee and Hesh to grow the sport’s base at home. I am sure there are enough corporate sponsors who will queue up to be associated with tennis. It needs a passionate corporate honcho to take interest and transform the dying duck in thunder AITA.
Anirban Lahiri on a red hot streak is leading the PGTI Order of Merit for this year with winnings of Rs 34,79,720 with Gaganjeet Bhullar following with Rs 29,61,000. Mukesh Kumar is third with earnings of Rs 2.4 million. For the previous season Mukesh Kumar had the highest earnings with Rs 3.4 million. So, the game is paying for golfers at home. Now let us look at the domestic PGTI circuit – a long list of sponsors – determines how much money will be ploughed into golf. This season Aircel, Citibank, SAIL, SRF, DLF, Hero Honda, Indian OIl, Tata, Avantha Group companies BILT, Solaris Chemtech, Crompton Greaves; ONGC have been the main sponsors. The Hero Honda Indian Open had a prize tag of $ 1.25 million, SAIL Open had a purse of $ 300,000, DLF Masters with Rs 8 million, BILT Open with Rs 10 million and Crompton Greaves Open which is coming up later this month with Rs 8 million. Munjal and Thapar are putting money where their mouth is and that is the only thing that matters.
The game has to be played at home and it needs to be remunerative for those playing it. That is the reason why golf is mushrooming despite the complete paucity of public golf courses in India. That golf is an elitist sport is a notion that needs to be dispelled. While the government may not have helped in bringing about this silent golf revolution, it can do well to create public golf courses or at least allow talented players access to private golf courses.
It is clear that India appears to be doing well in select sport – shooting, boxing, golf, chess, cue sports, weight lifting, wrestling, et al. Why don’t we encourage these disciplines by narrow focusing on them. Shiv Kapur won the gold in golf in the Busan Asian Games. Golfers of all hues are coming through thick and fast. Look at Chowrasia’s feat last year when he won the winner’s prize of $ 416,000 in the only European tour $ 2.5 million 2008 EMAAR MGF Indian Masters. A self taught golfer, Chowrasia is a case study of what can be achieved in sport. This win was equivalent to his entire career earnings since he first became professional in 1997. It was a stand out performance by the Kolkata pro in a field which included Ernie Els. This win gave him a three year extension on the European tour. India’s top golfers now don’t just aspire, but play in the European and US PGA Tours.
PGTI now has a qualifying school which has become extremely popular. We keep carping abpout grassroots, grassroots; how is it that we have managed to create such a decent base for golf in this sport. It goes against the grain, because golf is not an easily accessible sport. You cannot pick up a club and start playing, you need a course. Money and icons ensure that there is wider dispersal of the game in the country. It is a lesson for our administrators. Efficiency is the only thing that pays.
