By Rahul Banerji
Young Kartik Singh heads a seven-strong India squad at the annual Asia-Pacific Amateur Championships, to be played at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club from Thursday.
Rich rewards await the winner with spots at both Augusta Masters and the Open Championships up for grabs.
According to the event website, all coverage will be simulcast live on the championship website AACGolf.com, which will also feature unique video and editorial content.
In addition, the championship’s social media channels (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube) will add in-depth and interactive coverage throughout the week.
At age 13, Kartik Singh is the highest world-ranked Indian in the squad.
Shubham Jaglan, Krishnav Nikhil Chopra and Shaurya Bhattacharya have played the AAC earlier, while Kartik, Yuvraj Singh, Raghav Chugh and Vedant Sirohi are making their debuts at the event.
Jaglan finished tied 11th in his only previous experience at the Dubai AAC in 2021 and missed the event last year. Chopra was tied for 44th in 2022 and Bhattacharya was T47.
Missing out
India’s best at the AAC is Rayhan Thomas’ second place in 2018 at Singapore’s Sentosa Golf Club. This year Rayhan injured his hand a month ago and pulled out of the AAC, which is now in its 14th edition.
Jaglan, who plays collegiate golf with the University of South Florida, said, “This is an amazing event, and I am quite excited to be back again.
“The prizes on offer make it the best event for all of us, who come from this region. Not just that, the event is conducted superbly by Augusta National and the R&A.
Kartik is accompanied in Melbourne by his father, Dhananjay Singh, a former Naval officer, who said on event-eve, “These experiences will go a long way in Kartik progressing in golf.”
The teenager trains at the DLF Golf Academy under Deepinder Khullar, who of late has been mentoring a number of young golfers. Kartik has been prolific at domestic and other events, including US Kids Golf, and the US Junior Amateurs.
Jaglan hopes to turn pro after finishing college a little over a year from now.
Good form
Chugh (Rice University) has recently had a couple of top-three finishes in varsity golf while Chopra (Long Beach State) is fresh from a couple of wins in India in junior events, the last of which he won by 16 shots.
The son of former India cricketer, Nikhil Chopra, the youngster is making his second appearance at the event.
Sirohi (Webber International) has had a series of top-10 finishes including a win late last year and another one early this year.
Yuvraj Singh and Shaurya have been on the Indian teams sent by the IGU for numerous international events and Kartik Singh has also been on the circuit.
The field is highlighted by Japan’s Yuta Sugiura, world-ranked 16th, China’s Wenyi Ding (no. 22) and New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori. Last year’s runner-up, China’s Bo Jin (no. 118) will also be back.
Past winners and competitors include 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur, and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith.
The field includes players from 37 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) member organisations and the final field will see 120 players teeing off on Thursday morning.
Also read: India to field men’s, women’s teams at WATC in Abu Dhabi
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