AUGUSTA: Gairat Kaur Kahlon wrote a significant piece of history for Indian golf when she became the first player from the country to qualify for the Drive Chip & Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club.
The nine-year-old from Mohali was among the thousands of junior golfers who took part in the 348 Local Qualifiers across the 50 states in America. She won her 7-9 age category, then won in one of the 62 Sub-Regional Qualifiers, before finally becoming one of only 10 players in her age group to showcase her skills at the most venerable golf courses in the world. That too during the week of the Masters.
On Sunday, she became only the second Indian woman to play at Augusta National (Avani Prashanth twice featured in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur). Only four Indian men – Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal, Anirban Lahiri, and Shubhankar Sharma – have played at the Masters.
Despite the significance of her presence here and performing in front of a large crowd that included several superstars of the sport, Gairat was never overawed by the occasion, never missed a shot and never looked like she wasn’t enjoying every moment of the competition.
And yet, the competitor in her was disappointed.
“It’s a very proud moment to be the first Indian at the DCP Finals. I am very happy with the experience, but also slightly disappointed because I really wanted to win the tournament,” said Gairat, who finished fifth overall – seventh in driving, fourth in chipping, and fifth in putting
The road to the DCP Finals was arduous, but it became even more so for Gairat and her older sister Rabab. Four days before they were leaving for Charlotte in North Carolina to participate in the Local Qualifiers, their car was stolen from Jangpura area in New Delhi. The sisters’ golf sets were also in the boot. Rabab had to play the qualifiers with a rental set and failed to advance, while Gairat used a new set of clubs.
There were other challenges as well. Gairat, and her coach Mahesh Kumar, were aware of how fast the 18th green – where the players made their putts – would be. Augusta National greens are almost glass-like compared to Mohali, which plays to eight on the stimpmeter on a good day. So, for the past few months, she had been putting on artificial turf at Chandigarh Golf Association range.
Gairat took up golf at the age of four after accompanying her sister to a golf camp in Mohali.
Mother Akalkala said her daughter was a natural and wowed everyone with her shots from the moment she started hitting them. “Probably, she just picked up things subconsciously when Rabab was getting her coaching,” she added.
Akalkala gives all the credit to Gairat and her love for golf for what she has achieved, but it has been a family affair. Rabab says she is Gairat’s “temporary coach”, and an irritating alarm clock over these past six months whenever her sister felt like sleeping through. Akalkala gave up her dental practice and has a ‘full-time job’ of being a travel companion to her daughters. Father Guruamardeep is in the merchant navy and, hence, the “chief finance officer”. And maternal uncle Mehraj, a resident of Charlotte, played a crucial role in scouting information on DCP, registering her nieces, and being the family’s host and the designated chauffeur.
A big fan of Nelly Korda’s smooth swing, Bryson DeChambeau’s swing speed and Tiger Woods’ legendary achievements in the sport, Gairat wants to ensure that this is just the first of many trips to Augusta National.
“I want to be here again. I have a few years left to qualify for the DCP Finals, and then I want to come here and participate in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur,” said the fourth-class student at Manav Rachana School who wants to become a top professional golfer on the LPGA and dreams of representing India at the Olympics.
Lofty goals, but Gairat has already made a fast start towards achieving them.
