Oct 3, 2016: The second phase of the PGTI Tour has taken off with a real bang. Rashid Khan, winner in Noida and Ahmedabad has returned to the circuit to end a lengthy drought. Khalin Joshi underlined his credentials as one of the most promising young golfers in India with a fine victory in Mewat. S Chikkarangappa proved his ability to beat the best when he overcame Rahil Gangjee and M Dharma for a hard earned triumph in Bengaluru.
The season is still very young considering that there is nearly nine crores on the table in the ten events through Christmas. There have been seven winners so far this season and the top three men in the Rolex Order of Merit are separated by less than 1.50 lakhs.
Shubhankar Sharma is leading the stakes with earnings of Rs. 16,42,680. The young golfer has been consistent for the most part, winning twice and staying inside the top ten every time he made the cut this season. Shubhankar has played seven of the ten events so far, making six cuts.
After stops in Mewat, Chennai and Bengaluru this October, the golfers will shoot North East for a swing in Meghalaya and Assam. That will be followed by events in Mumbai, Delhi, Dhaka and Jamshedpur. The tour will wind up with a grand finale, the McLeod Russel Tour Championship at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club.
Historically, the caddie pros seem to have done well in the second part of the season. But given the healthy competition for honours in recent weeks, we could see a little more of the stars vying for honours in the coming weeks.
Rookie Veer Ahlawat has impressed this season, notching up two top ten finishes in just five starts. He is currently sitting on a healthy lead over Sachin Baisoya and Aman Raj in the emerging player of the year category.
Back to the main deck, Rashid Khan is tapping on the heels of Shubhankar, winning in two of his four starts and top ten in each of the four events. After a lengthy period of struggle with his mind and game, the PGTI Tour seems to have offered some respite to Rashid. But given the heightened activity on the Asian Tour, it remains to be seen if Rashid can sustain a schedule in India too.
Chikka is ruling the roost in India, but he too may have aspirations in Asia. If that is how it turns out to be, then the battle for honours might be between Shubhankar and Khalin. The Panasonic Open alone is a $400,000 event, which means a victory there for one of the other golfers could tilt the balance another way too.
Anand Datla
