Playing in his first national senior tournament organised by the Indian Golf Union (IGU) as an amateur golfer, Kolkata’s Gaurav Ghosh came out on top to clinch the 2023 IGU All India Mid Amateurs and Seniors Championship, held between November 1 and 3 at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC). “I played this event as a rookie, having turned 55 this year and become eligible to play in this competition. I expected to do well on my home course, but I didn’t expect to win,” said a characteristically modest Ghosh, speaking to My Kolkata soon after his victory.
On a challenging course that was made even tougher thanks to the rough added by the organisers, Ghosh bettered 34 others to seal his triumph in a playoff. “At the end of day one, I was tied for second place. At the end of day two, when I didn’t play very well, I was tied for fourth. But I managed to catch up with and tie Jaideep Singh (also from Kolkata) for first place on the final day, before winning the playoff,” described Ghosh, who carded scores of 77-83-76, while Singh shot 81-81-74. The third place was shared between Bengaluru’s David D’Souza, a former India international, and Chandigarh’s Sandeep Singh Sandhu. All four players will be part of the Indian contingent for the Asia Pacific Seniors in Vietnam, scheduled between November 21 and 23.
Ghosh, who is Captain of RCGC and also vice chairman of J Thomas and Co., put in several hours of extra effort over the past few months to prepare for the tournament Gaurav Ghosh
“Gaurav is a childhood friend and an extremely competitive and talented golfer. I’m not at all surprised with his win. But he’ll still have to work harder to beat me! (laughs)” said golf guru Indrajit Bhalotia. As for Ghosh, work on the course had been intensive in the lead-up to the tournament at RCGC. “I’ve been playing AVT senior tournaments since I turned 50, which has made me competition-ready. But, for this one, I put in extra effort over the past three to four months. Fifteen days before the tournament, I started practising in the evening alongside my morning sessions,” narrated Ghosh, who is also the Captain for RCGC this year apart from his day job as vice chairman at J Thomas and Co.
“This win means a lot to me, because it also gives me an opportunity to represent India in Vietnam. I’m looking forward to that and also to playing more international tournaments in 2024,” concluded Ghosh.
