Indian Golfer's Performance in 2019: Who's Up Who's Down?

Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan, a golfer who has always raised the bar very high with his performances over the last few years and with a successful back-to-back season, he proves his ability to play under tough circumstances and his hunger to win every game.

The right-handed golfer from Delhi has played 22 events combined (European Tour, Asian Tour, and PGTI) in the last season, in which he had 14 Top-10s that showed his dominance on the field, and no doubt he topped the 2019 PGTI Merit Order with total earnings of Rs. 66,27,650, the highest ever for the PGTI season. Khan, had a decent run in the PGTI Order of Merit since he turned pro in 2010, as he finished third on the Order of Merit in 2011, second in 2012, and last year topped the PGTI chart for the third time, he had earlier won this title in 2013 and 2016.

In 2019, Rashid also claimed the honour of being the top-ranked Indian in the OWGR with a rank of 216. Well, with 11 professional wins in his bag already, we all knew that the Delhi boy has the tremendous confidence and skill to win more pro games in the upcoming season and take the Indian Golf to the next level.

Shubhankar Sharma

Shubhankar Sharma, a rising young golfer who is considered to be the finest and the biggest golfer in India today, and the most talked-about golfer in the world.

Shubhankar has already attained massive success all over the globe in just six years after becoming a professional. He’s a golfer who’s revered by all the young and enthusiastic golfers in India, and to be honest, he deserves every bit of it.

The 2018 Season remained as the career-best season for Shubhankar, as at the end of the year he finished at 116 in OWGR. So, it was very obvious, that we all were expecting from him to reach new heights and win big tournaments in 2019, but Shubhankar’s performance in 2019 was not that great what we all expected, and that was quite a disappointment from a successful golfer. 

However, after the end of season 2019, he finished second-best in India with 243 in the OWGR only behind Rashid Khan, but last year’s performance does not justify the ability and aura he holds. He’s one of those rare golfers who’s been loved by everyone for his performance, and with so many expectations from this majestic player, we all want him to do well in the coming years, and leave a mark in the world.

 Khalin Joshi

---

Khalin Joshi, the big name in the Indian Golf who proved his worth many times in the past, but he could not find his rhythm in the 2019 season, which turned out to be a season to forget for the big man. 

Last year, the Bengaluru golfer was carrying a mixed bag of achievements and disappointments. As in 2018, he finished 251 in the OWGR, while his numbers were down to a fast pace and he was placed at 789 position in 2019.

In 2018, Khalin topped the PGTI order of merit with total earnings of Rs. 62,81,340. Although in 2019, he fell to 42nd place in the PGTI rankings and could only able to earn Rs. 7,36,297. In the combined (European Tour, Asian Tour, and PGTI) 28 games he played last year, he only managed to get to the top-10 in the rankings for just 1 time, which shows how he lacks confidence after losing the momentum he gained in 2018. However, we are Damm sure that he knew the areas that he needed to work on in the coming year, and he’ll definitely bounce back in style.

Chikkarangappa S

The Bangalore-based talented golfer, also known as Chikka, has always looked hungry for victory, so does his performance says. 

The 26-year-old golfer started well in 2019, where he won the first PGTI event of the last season “Golconda Masters Championship” with a total score of -20 under 264. He also claimed the title of the Delhi-NCR Open Golf Championship and added two big trophies to his bag of achievements. He finished 498 at the OWGR in 2018, and in 2019 he climbed up to 368 at the end of the season.

Success and Chikka certainly go hand in hand and the experienced campaigner doesn’t require to speak about his abilities, because his superb performance on the course does all the work itself. He keeps dropping hints of what he can deliver in frequent intervals. Chikka is, after all, a highly experienced performer on the golf course, and he never fears of tough times, the star golfer only relished the mighty challenge and come out on top, a precisely quality from a top golfer.

Viraj Madappa

Viraj’s performance was below par in the 2019 season, known to be as a challenging player, but in 2019 he does not look like a one that he always supposed to be. 

Madappa won his maiden Asian Tour title at Take Solutions Masters in 2018 and that victory was a huge boost to his golf career, but he lost touch and couldn’t keep up his momentum last year. The young man struggled to reach the heights in 2019, where his best finish was only a tied-9th result in Mercuries Taiwan Masters (Oct 19).

The golfer from Kolkata is actively participating in the Asian tours and has played a total of 24 events during the 2019 season. He was 321 in the OWGR at the end of the 2018 season, but he failed miserably and fell to 575 in 2019. However, in PGTI, Madappa just slips four spots from 20 in 2018 to 24 in 2019 to remain at an even level, but this is no less than a wake-up call for the 22-year-old golfer.

It’s just the initial years in Madappa’s young career, as he was turned pro three years back and working really hard on his game improvements. Also, if we look at his skills and abilities on the golf course we can assume one thing that the last year was just a forgotten year for the talented man, but in the coming season, he will definitely going to roar big with his game. 

Udayan Mane

The Last year’s Tata Steel Tour Championship winner Udayan Mane had come a long way since he turned pro. The Pune based golfer also won another major PGTI Players Championship event last year.

The 28-year-old Mane endeared himself to the galleries when he posted the lowest PGTI tournament score overall, 26-under-262, and claimed the last PGTI event of 2019 'Tata Steel Tour Championship'. After that big win, he climbs big and reached the 3rd spot in the PGTI Order of Merit 2019. 

From ranked 1081 in 2018 to 412 in 2019 in OWGR, he has been competing with himself and amazed everyone with his unique game style, and after winning the two big tournaments last year, he showed what he could do on his best day.

Udayan has a rare quality of performing well under the critical situation, and in the coming year, Mane can prove to be a vital cog in Indian golf as far as the challenges in concerned. While some inconsistencies in his game can’t be ignored since he turned professional in 2013, but he proved last year, what a great asset he can be to the Indian golf in the coming years.