Joy of Golf: Small in stature, but big in talent — Chawrasia

Joy Chakravarty 09:24 31/03/2016
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  • Champion: SSP Chawrasia.

    Way back in 1998, I was the media manager for the Indian PGA Tour. We were at Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) for a Tour event, when Basad Ali, a legendary veteran professional, pointed out to a skinny little lad – he would have struggled to weigh more than 50 kilos and measure 5ft – and said: “Watch out for him. He is a very special talent”.

    That week, the 19-year-old was in his first professional event on his home course. He had played a few tournaments before that on the Tour, but there was nothing that jumped out of his record.

    Basad’s words have proved prophetic. Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia hasn’t added much to his weight or height since then, but in the ensuing 18 years, he has literally become a giant of Indian golf. Actually, make that Asian golf.

    A week ago, he added another unforgettable chapter to his storied career, winning the Hero Indian Open for his third European Tour title. But it is not his feats that are mind-boggling, it’s how he achieved them and against what odds.

    His is one career I have followed almost from day one, and have often marvelled at. It is a real-life story that inspires and motivates.

    Brought up in abject poverty – his father was a greenskeeper at RCGC and had a rather large family to feed – he has overcome barriers that would have disheartened the bravest.

    To begin with, there was the financial constraint. Golf is not the cheapest of sport to play or learn in India, but Chawrasia found a way. Such was his passion for the sport from a very young age, members of RCGC were happy to help him out with spare clubs, balls and encouragement to practice.

    Physically, it would be easy to lose him in a bunch of primary school kids. In modern golf, where Tiger Woods raised the bar and players like Dustin Johnson set the standard of athleticism, Chawrasia is more Bruce Banner than Hulk. There is a hero hidden inside capable of extraordinary feats, but you will never guess by looking at him.

    There are modern golf courses where Chawrasia feels a bit helpless. That’s because he does not drive it far. But give the man a wedge and putter, and he can create outrageous shots from the most impossible positions. That was evident time and again when he won the Indian Open. Even Seve Ballesteros would have been proud of some of the ups-and-downs he made from the thorny Delhi Golf Club bushes.

    It’s not just his game Chawrasia had to improve.

    In 1998, his English vocabulary was restricted to a couple of words. That he can now understand and carry on a conversation with players with Irish and Scottish accents, shows the terrific leap he has made in that important department.

    In 1998, he rarely experienced anything more than home-cooked food. Today, his favourite cuisine is Japanese and he is quite a connoisseur in sushi. All this has helped him become a much better traveller, which has made him more comfortable as a player.

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    But the best part about Chawrasia is that throughout all this mas- sive upheaval in his life, he has remained a most grounded person. He has the highest respect for the sport that has become his profession, his fellow competitors and the fans. His conduct on and off the course is impeccable.

    May his tribe increase.

    With a little help from…

    Jason Day’s recovery from what looked like a serious back injury during his opening match of the WGC-Dell Match Play was as miraculous as the one from his positional vertigo-related collapse during last year’s US Open.

    That’s the beauty of modern sport. You now have so much knowledge and expert help, top-level athletes are able to prevent injuries and recuperate much faster.

    But sometimes, age-old wisdom helps more than anything else, as Day must have found out from two players he competed against over the next four days.

    Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee, whom he met the next day in another group match, has suffered from back issues all his playing career. But he has now managed it very well the past six or seven years by ditching the hotel bed and sleeping on hard floor whenever he feels the slightest of discomfort in his back.

    Louis Oosthuizen, who Day beat in the final, has also had trouble with his back ever since winning the 2010 Open Championship. He is much better since last year, only because he has added something to the baggage he carries around the world.

    The South African now lugs a special mattress with him wherever he travels and uses it at any hotel where he thinks the mattress is too hard or soft for his back.

    Stats of the Week

    11 – tournaments won by Lydia Ko on the LPGA Tour so far, and she is just 18 years old
    26–the age at which the legendary Annika Sorenstam won her 11th LPGA Tour title

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