The rise of golf in India

Last updated: 9th February 2010

Although golf has been played in India for nearly 200 years it is only in the last 15 years that the game has progressed from being a relic of the British Empire to an opportunity for Indians to compete on the world stage.

But with the game becoming less socially divisive and more and more players winning events all over the world, the country is becoming as important to the future of golf as China.

Here, Golf365 looks at the past, present and future of Indian golf.

PAST:

Peter Thomson - three-time Indian Open winner

Most golf fans know that Thomson had a superb record in the Open Championship (he won it five times in the 1950s and 60s) but it is less well known how the Australian also dominated the Indian Open too! The event was first played in 1964 and another famous winner was two-time US Open champ Payne Stewart who took the title at the Delhi GC in 1981. India was one of the well-travelled Thomson's favourite stop-offs between Europe and Australia, and he re-designed many of the courses built by the British.

Royal Calcutta Golf Club - India's first course

Formed in 1829 the Royal Calcutta GC is believed to have been the first golf club created outside of the British Isles. Although the Society of St Andrew's Golfers had been long established, it would be another five years until the Royal & Ancient GC would be founded and another 60 years until America had its first club. Throughout the 19th century the British expanded their Empire across India and built golf courses as they went, bashing their feathery ball across the rudimentary fairways and greens of India.

The 1996 Dunhill Cup - India beats Scotland in St Andrew's

India was invited to the 1996 edition of the now defunct team event at the Home of Golf and were rated 1,000-1 outsiders by the bookies. Raymond Russell had no difficulty with Ali Sher, walloping him by 13 shots over the Old Course. But Gaurav Ghei scored a shock one-shot win over Colin Montgomerie and then Jeev Milkha Singh and Andrew Coltart tied with rounds of 74. Singh prompted scenes of Indian joy and Scottish disbelief by winning on the first play-off hole.

The 2008 EMAAR-EGF Indian Masters - the first European Tour event in India

When the Tour visited the Delhi GC in February 2008 India became the 37th different nation to host an event. The tournament drew a decent field including Ernie Els, Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn but it was a one-time caddie from the Royal Calcutta GC, SSP Chowrasia, who triumphed, shooting 9-under par. The paparazzi had turned up specifically to photograph the Bollywood superstar Abishek Bacchan, who was presenting the trophy, but found themselves photographing scenes of wild excitement as the locals celebrated a famous home victory.

Cricket - India's first love

Until Sachin Tendulkar became the finest cricketer the nation has ever produced, all-rounder Kapil Dev was the darling of India. The Harryana Hurricane is still the only man to have taken over 400 Test wickets and scored over 5,000 Test runs. Like many sportsmen when he retired he missed the sporting challenge so he turned to golf, announcing, in 1998, that he wanted to play for India again, this time as a golfer. Although he showed promise - he was the leading amateur in the Siel PGA tournament after the first round - he seemed to lack commitment (he promptly withdrew from that tournament citing another engagement). Since then he has won competitions but the only time he has represented India was in a challenge match against Pakistan for fellow ex-cricketers.

PRESENT:

Jeev Milkha Singh - India's finest player

Singh is not only India's greatest player, he is also the most travelled player in all of world golf; his success today (he is a three-time European Tour winner and now a member of the PGA Tour) is just reward for years of flying around the world, playing almost every tour on every continent. He is a true trailblazer for Indian golf - when he won the Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea in 1994 he became the first Indian winner of a main tour event outside India. He now has 19 wins worldwide and in 2007 became the first Indian to play at Augusta. Despite possessing one of the most ungainly swings in golf, he was always destined to be a sportsman - his father is the famed Indian Olympic runner Milkha Singh and his mother Nirmal Kaur captained the Indian volleyball team.

Daniel Chopra - the first Indian to win on the PGA Tour

Although born in Stockholm (to a Swedish mother and Indian father), Chopra returned to India at the age of seven and was brought on the sub-continent by his grandparents. A winner of the Doug Sanders World Junior Championship in 1991, he was an itinerant golfer for the next ten years, much like Jeev Milkha Singh, until he found consistency and eventually success on the PGA Tour. Although he represents Sweden, his two wins in America (the Ginn sur Mer Classic in 2007 and prestigious Mercedes-Benz Championship in 2008) can still be viewed as a triumph for Indian golf.

Arjun Atwal - the first Indian to win on the European Tour

When he won the 2002 Singapore Masters (defeating Richard Green by five strokes) he became the very first Indian to win on the European Tour and he added another two titles over the next six years. In that period he also took himself to America (where he had been schooled for two years) and very nearly won the BellSouth Classic in 2005, but ultimately failed in a five-man play-off. He won the 2008 Chattanooga Classic on the Nationwide Tour and continues to play on that tour.

Smriti Mehra - India's best lady golfer

A winner on the Futures Tour in America, the 38-year-old Mehra has struggled in recent years on the LPGA and LET Tours, but she was good enough to challenge for the 1998 British Open, lying in third place going into the final round before finishing sixth behind the eventual winner Sherri Steinhauer.

FUTURE:

Gaganjeet Bhullar - the new star?

Jeev Milkha Singh is the top ranked Indian in the world rankings (at number 59) but who is second ranked? The multi-event winning Jyoti Randhawa? The American-based Atwal? Or even (though he doesn't strictly qualify) Daniel Chopra? No, in fact it is the 21-year-old Bhullar who won for a second time in six months on the Asian Tour last week and is now 115th in the world. 2009 was definitely his breakthrough year - he won fives times on the Indian Tour and also added his maiden Asian Tour event. He's one to watch.

Shiv Kapur - European Tour regular

27-year-old Kapur is starting his fifth season on the European Tour and he is growing in maturity with every year. The 2005 Asian Tour Rookie of the Year, his best finishes until recently have come in Asia (he was second in the Indonesian Open in 2007) but before Christmas he hinted that there may be more to come soon when he narrowly failed to claim the South African Open, eventually losing a play-off with Richie Ramsay. Together with Bhullar he could lead the next generation of Indian golfers.

PowerPlay - the Twenty20 of golf?

In Mumbai last September Bollywood actress Neha Dupia helped launch an exciting new format for the game to the Indian audience. PowerPlay golf takes place over just nine holes and builds in an added risk and reward element with two flags on each green. A speedier version of the game it is aimed at the same demographic as Twenty20 cricket which started small in India and has taken off to an astonishing degree. PowerPlay golf might be the next big thing.