Veer Ahlawat sets his sights on upcoming DGC Open

By Rahul Banerji

When the Asian Tour resumed late last year in Thailand, one of the names that stood out was that of Veer Ahlawat, for his top-10 finish at the Blue Canyon Championship in Phuket.

It was his second such result after a T8 at home in the Panasonic Open India 2019.

Ahlawat followed that up almost immediately with a T5 finish at the Singapore Open in January.

He also made it to the main field of the star-studded Saudi International where he met Dustin Johnson, a player he admires a lot.

Ahlawat, 25, now has his eyes set on the inaugural DGC Open presented by Mastercard at the Delhi Golf Club later this month.

It is a course he has played on and loves the challenge, more so after the changes to the DGC’s Lodhi Course.

“I played at the new layout last December in a PGTI event. I finished close to the top 10 (he was T11),” Ahlawat said recently.

“It can be tricky, especially for someone like me who likes to be aggressive. I love the course and the atmosphere and it has so much history.”

He was also happy that a event with a prize purse of half a million dollars would bring along a big opportunity for local golfers.

“Always nice to play at home,” added Ahlawat who lives in Gurgaon.

Solid form

Ahlawat has come off a couple of good seasons on the domestic PGTI Tour which has given him great confidence.

In 11 starts in 2021, he had two runner-up finishes and two third places and two other Top-10s. In 2020, when he had just seven starts, he was Top-10 six times which included a runner-up finish.

While he has been the bridesmaid on numerous occasions in the last two years, he does have a win – at the Indian Oil Servo Masters in Digboi in 2019.

Since then, he has been looking for his second win. “It will happen soon, I hope,” he adds.

Ahlawat first picked up golf around age 12. Just as he was approaching his teens, Ahlawat had two choices for a career – a career in the Army or golf.

His father, Colonel Yashpal Ahlawat and his elder sister, who is now a captain, were in the Army.

But Veer veered towards golf but was not an instant success and it was in the 2013-14 season when he began to show signs of maturing.

Biding his time

Ahlawat confesses he took some time to gain confidence. But the turning point was probably when he started training with Anitya Chand at the DLF Golf and Country Club.

In 2015, Ahlawat was runner-up at the MCB Indian Ocean Amateur golf. That year he also made the Indian team for the prestigious Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf at Clearwater Bay course in Hong Kong.

Towards the end of 2015, Anitya convinced Ahlawat to take the plunge into pro golf. Despite not being sure, Ahlawat took the advice and played the PGTI Qualifying School and made the grade.

He turned pro in 2016 and it took till 2019 to get his first win. He awaits his next trophy but he says that the confidence levels are growing each day.

Ahlawat hopes that 2022 will be his breakthrough year after enduring two years of disruptions due to Covid.

Also read: Delhi Golf Club sets stage for return of Asian Tour with DGC Open