Rises to 355th place in world rankings

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 7

Rising from being a three-year-old kid smashing windowpanes in the backyard of his house to attaining the 355th rank in the world rankings, 21-year-old Karandeep Kochhar has come a long way to take a step further in his golfing career after winning the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational Championship at Chandigarh Golf Course today.

With a stunning comeback from tied-76th and winning the play-off tie against former India No. 1 Anirban Lahiri, the youngster has proved that patience is the key to success.

In 2016, Kochhar, 17 at that time, became the youngest Indian and the only amateur to win a PGTI event by winning the PGTI Players Championship at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata. Thereafter, he tried his luck in some major tournaments, before winning last month’s TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship, the first after he turned professional.

Today, as he won PGTI”s another event, he earned five Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points to rise from 442nd to 355th in the world rankings, a gain of 87 spots.

“I have got a good advice from Jeev sir last evening. He told me to believe in myself no matter what the situation is. It means a great deal to me having made such a good comeback after starting with a 76. Winning two events in a row is special and I feel I can continue this winning spree further at the next event in Jamshedpur. Having played 15-under in the last three rounds, I attribute this win to my positive mindset as I trusted my game despite the poor start to the week,” said Kochhar.

The perfect start

Kochhar’s golfing journey started from his home only. His interest in golf was first noticed by his grandfather, a keen golfer and well-known face of the local golfing circuit. He brought his three-year-old grandson a golf kit, including a putter, driver and iron, and asked him to try his hands on it. Two years later, Kochhar was playing in the Indian Golf Union (IGU) events. “I brought him this junior US kit from New Zealand. He tried his hands by smashing windowpanes in the backyard of our house. That moment, I realised it’s better to take him to golf course. He continued to develop his interest and thereafter I handed him over to Coach Jesse Grewal. At the age of five, he was playing in IGU events. Today’s win is really important for him, as he has a long way to go before claiming something big for the nation,” said Dr Gurdeep Singh Kochhar, his grandfather.

Leading the money list

Today’s win also pushed the youngster up from second to first position in the PGTI Order of Merit as his winning cheque for Rs 24, 24,750 took his season’s earnings to Rs 33, 50,680. “Well a goal of mine at the start of the year was to win the Order of Merit.. I’m now leading the money list,” laughed Kochhar. “I feel I always have an edge over most players here at my home course. I’m always confident of scrambling well here even when I’m not playing at my best. So that contributed to my self-belief this week,” he added.