By Rahul Banerji
A winner in 2019 on the Professional Golf Tout of India, Veer Ahlawat has been a picture of consistency on the course for the last few seasons.
The 6-foot, 3-inch tall 25-year-old from DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurgaon first made an impression in his rookie season in 2016 when he posted four top-10s and finished 32nd on the Order of Merit.
In following seasons, Veer made rapid strides on the tour with top-20 finishes in the money list in 2017 and 2018 and a career-best fifth place in the 2019 PGTI rankings when he broke through the victory barrier in Digboi.
Veer, one of three players to make three eagles in a round on the PGTI, has also had a fruitful 2020-2021 season so far with seven top-10s, the most in the season along with Khalin Joshi.
Ahlawat, seventh on the merit list in the current season, said, “I feel I’ve gained a lot of experience and matured as a player over the last five years since turning professional.
“Now I’m confident of my ability to put myself in contention regularly and win tournaments. I believe this changed mindset has been the key to my consistent run this season.
“It’s not about just making cuts anymore. I’m now aiming for the stars. Now even a bad finish by my own standards is not actually a bad finish.”
Long hitter
Veer, known as one of the longest hitters on the tour, analyzed his game, saying, “My long driving ability helps me set up a lot of birdie chances as I fly it to an average of 300 to 305 yards.
“I also hit it straight. So that sets me up well.
“However, in order to add more wins on the tour, I feel I need to sharpen my short game even more.
“I was lacking a bit in my short game earlier and because of that in pressure situations I couldn’t hole as many putts or make that many saves from around the green.
“But recently I’ve worked a lot on these aspects and I feel there’s huge improvement,” said Ahlawat, the son of an Army officer.
With the pandemic forcing a temporary closure of golfing facilities in the Delhi-NCR region, Veer, like many other pro golfers, has innovated and adopted new methods of practicing indoors while at home.
He said, “I’m working on putting at home on my carpet and swinging in front of the mirror to stay in tune.”
Given his steady rise, there is much to look forward t from this young talent, observers of the game feel.
Also read: Mumbai girl Ivana Shah awarded prestigious LPGA trophy
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