Royal Troon (Scotland): Shubhankar Sharma will be the only Indian passport holder teeing off at the 152nd Open Championship here on Thursday even as several Indian-origin players, including Akshay Bhatia, would aim to hold aloft the Claret Jug at the oldest Major over the weekend.
Last year Sharma finished tied-eighth at Royal Liverpool for the best-ever finish by an Indian at the British Open. Apart from Sharma, the other Indian touch at Liverpool was Sahith Theegala, who missed the cut.
However, this time around, there is a strong Indian flavour in the field, including Theegala, one of the most exciting young stars, Bhatia, the left-hander who defied the popular norm of playing college before turning pro, and Aaron Rai, whose habit of wearing gloves on both hands, turns head in the golfing world.
The trio of Theegala, Bhatia and Rai, all have Indian blood in them, though the first two represent the United States and the third is now an Englishman.
Theegala’s parents grew up in Hyderabad, before making US their home, where their son became a fine golfing prospect as he swept all prestigious awards at the collegiate level. Now, he is world No. 11 and on the doorsteps of a new milestone of being the top-10 player in the world.
Bhatia chose a different path. Bypassing college golf after a chat with Phil Mickelson, the golfer, whose parents came from North India, went to mini Tour events, before winning on the Korn Ferry and finally making his way into the main PGA Tour.
Bhatia has now won twice on the PGA Tour and Mickelson speaks glowingly about this left-hander who has often said that his idol is ‘Lefty’ the man who has six Majors and now plays on the Liv Golf League.
Bhatia, who earned his way into the Masters by winning a week before the first Major of the year, finished T-35 at Augusta, but missed the cut at PGA. He was then T-16 at the US Open.
He has been a consistent performer this year. He has one win, two other top-10s and seven more finishes in top-20 out of a total of 20 starts. After starting the year in 110th place in the world, he is now 26th and climbing.
And finally, Rai. The Wolverhampton lad’s parents grew up in Kenya and their parents were born in India. Rai speaks fondly of his visit to India for the 2018 Hero Indian Open where he finished tied-ninth.
Rai has been in the top-7 in his last three starts on the PGA Tour even as he searches for his first win. Overall, he has five finishes in top-7 and three other top-20 finishes in 19 starts in 2024, and is now at a career-best 45th place in world rankings.
A good number of Indian golf fans will keep an eye not only on Sharma, but also on Indian-Americans Theegala and Bhatia, and Rai, the Brit with an Indian heritage.
