13-year-old Kartik among seven Indians to feature at Asia-Pacific Amateur golf

MELBOURNE: India will be fielding a seven-member team, headed by a 13-year-old Kartik Singh, who is the highest world-ranked in the squad, at the annual Asia-Pacific Amateur Championships, which rewards the winner with a place in both the Augusta Masters and the Open Championships alongside the best golfers in the world.

The others include three players Shubham Jaglan, Krishnav Nikhil Chopra and Shaurya Bhattacharya, who 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 AAC in 2021 in Dubai and missed the event last year. Krishnav Nikhil Chopra (T-44 in 2022) and Shaurya Bhattacharya (T-47 in 2022).

India’s best at the AAC has been a second place, when Rayhan Thomas came close to winning the title. That was in 2018 in Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore and this year Rayhan injured his hand a month ago and pulled out of the AAC, which is now celebrating its 14th edition.

Jaglan, who is playing college golf with 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 the Augusta National and the R&A.

Kartik, who is just 13, is accompanied by his father, Dhananjay Singh, a former Naval officer. The father, while looking for good results, is looking long term and said, “These experiences will go a long way in Kartik progressing in golf.”

Kartik, who trains at the DLF Golf Academy, is currently being coaches by Deepinder Khullar, who of late has been coaching a lot of teen potentials. Kartik has been prolific in domestic events and has also been playing in other events, including US Kids Golf, US Junior Amateurs, Thailand, Vietnam and others.

Jaglan has been playing college golf and is hoping to turn pro after finishing college a little over a year from now. Chugh has recently had a couple of Top-3 finishes in college golf while Chopra 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 has had a series of Top-10 finishes including a win late last year and one more early this year.

Yuvraj Singh and Shaurya have been among the Indian teams sent by the IGU for numerous international events and Kartik Singh has also been on the circuit.

Of the seven Indian players who are here Shubham Jaglan (University of South Florida), Chugh (Rice University), Sirohi (Webber International) and Chopra (Long Beach State) are all playing in college golf.

The field is highlighted by Japan’s Yuta Sugiura, China’s Wenyi Ding (No.22) and New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori. The 2022 runner-up, China’s Bo Jin (No.118) will also be making a return.

Well-known 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 have 120 players.