By Rahul Banerji
In many ways, the story of Gaurav Ghei reflects the growth and development of Indian professional golf.
The stocky 51-year-old, a product of the Delhi Golf Club and a Modern School, Barakhamba Road alumnus, was set for a career in business administration.
He had earned a seat at a prestigious management institute even as his amateur golfing career blossomed. A calculated gamble at that stage, however, changed things for good and all.
Ghei, India’s no. 1 amateur golfer the year before he turned professional in 1992, told the Professional Golf Tour of India in the course of a wide-ranging conversation that it had been a close call.
Touch and go
“I was never really serious about the game even though I loved golf and had played well as an amateur. I was a finalist at the All India Amateur twice.
“It was only after I finished college that I only started thinking about pursuing golf seriously. I then had a choice to join either a residential MBA programme which I got into or play professional golf.
“I was ready to enroll at IMI which was a residential management institute, before I got a brainwave about playing professional golf.
“Mr. K.K. Bajoria, who I’ve known for a very long time from the DGC, knew the founder of that institute and he convinced him to hold my admission for a year.”
The articulate golfer, who represented India at several international events as an amateur including the 1990 Beijing Asian Games, never looked back.
On the high road
Ghei soon earned success as a professional golfer and was amongst the first wave of Indians to make name for themselves on the international stage.
“I turned pro in December 1991 and gave myself a year to see if I could play well and make a living out of it,” he told the PGTI.
“I had a good finish, 10th or 11th, at my debut event in Mhow in January 1992. Thereafter, I played about seven to eight events from till April 1992 and had a top-5 in every event.
“The last event of the season was the ADDI Cup which I went on to win.
“I then played three tournaments on the Malaysian Tour. I won the first, the Desaru Classic in Johor and had impressive finishes in the other two events as well.
“From then on there was no looking back.
“I thought if I could compete outside India then I have the game to play as a pro,” said Ghei, who is a couple of years senior to Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal, India’s most prolific golf ambassadors overseas.
Ghei’s victory at the Gadgil Western Masters 1995 was a watershed moment for Indian golf as it was the first time an Indian had won on the Asian Tour, the PGTI noted.
Ghei closed out his run at the title with a sensational chip-in for eagle from 35 yards on the final hole in front of a rapturous home crowd at the DGC to edge out compatriot Vijay Kumar.
Emotional moments
Ghei has clear memories of that golden evening.
“Winning the Gadgil Western Masters was the most emotional moment for me in my career.
“I had been playing well all season and two weeks prior to Gadgil, I had been tied for the lead at the Dubai Creek Open on the last hole, hit my tee shot into the water to make a double-bogey and finish fifth.
“After that to come to my home course DGC and win in that fashion in the presence of my family and friends was very special.
“The victory also had great significance for me for many other reasons.
“The tournament was one of the most well-attended as lot of people walked the course.
“Gadgil offered the biggest ever prize money in India till that point.
“I also knew that it was going to be my last tournament of the year because I was going in for a hernia surgery immediately after that would put me out of action for two to three months.”
(To be continued)
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