SSP Chawrasia weaves a visual treat in Delhi

Anand Datla

March 20, 2016: Textile artists are creative geniuses with an uncanny knack of stitching together seemingly innocuous pieces of rags into a delightful embroidery of artistic value. Even the best of them might have been proud of the ensemble created by SSP Chawrasia on an unforgiving course at the Delhi Golf Club.

Key Highlights: The sum of pieces can be larger than its whole
• Chawrasia was 30th in driving accuracy at 66.1%. The man with the leading number was Mithun Perera (85.7%) finished in 51st position
• He was driving an average of 253.6 yards, good enough only for 65th on that count. Englishman Ben Evans was driving a massive 302 yards, but he finished in 31st position
• Chawrasia made 63.9% of the greens in regulation, a marker on which 33 other golfers did better. Adilson Da Silva made 80.6% of GIR, ending the tournament in T4
• The golfer from Kolkata took an average of 1.592 putts for each GIR, trailing eighth placed Rashid Khan who averaged 1.508 putts per GIR
• Chawrasia took an average of 25.8 putts per round, while Vikrant Chopra (T37) took only 25 putts
• But Chawrasia’s 67-67-68-71 was by far the most consistent effort of the week, aiding his two shot victory over Anirban Lahiri and Jeunghun Wang

SSP Chwrasia built his victory like an edifice carved out of stone. It took often painstaking effort, mental resolve and a monk like calm to help him achieve his memorable victory. The Kolkata native stood head and shoulders above the vibrant field in the Hero Indian Open, but he was firmly middle of the table on every little parameter measuring golfing excellence

In the end it was his ability to scramble miraculously from dire situations that helped Chawrasia escape to victory this time. He produced a short game masterpiece that proved the fact that you could script a win by stitching together your resources, provided you have a hawk like focus and mental fortitude.

Chawrasia’s scrambling genius was best captured at the 12th hole in the third round. The 37 year old hooked his tee shot in a thorny bush to the left of the fairway. Enduring a prickly few moments, Chawrasia managed to chip the ball out, but it landed on a grassy bank off the green.

He worked up a near miracle from there. With barely any room to stand, Chawrasia was worried that he might even dislodge the ball from its shaky nest in the grass. But mustering courage and working up a piece of immortal wizardry, Chawrasia captivated our imagination by playing a perfect chip shot that rolled straight into the pin.

It was a moment that shall remain etched in the minds of the many fans that made their way to witness this emancipating journey of a much loved golfer. He wasn’t really the best at anything this week, but he stitched together an epic victory by scrambling like a possessed warrior with the meagre resources at his disposal.