Arjun Atwal is the top draw at the first international golf tournament hosted by the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) since the Indian Open in 1999. The Kolkata Challenge Tour began on March 21 and will continue till March 24. The last time international golf happened in RCGC, it was Atwal who secured the first place with S.S.P. Chawrasia coming second.
“I’m sure our course will be a test for the players and they will enjoy this old design as well as the conditions,” said Gaurav Ghosh
“It’s a matter of great pride that we’re hosting an international event after 25 years. Arjun Atwal and S.S.P. Chawrasia, both our members, are playing here, which is a great honour because both have become decorated champions since taking the top spots in 1999. I’m sure our course will be a test for the players and they will enjoy this old design as well as the conditions. I would like to thank the Challenge Tour, PGTI and K&A Events (the event organisers) for making it possible,” said RCGC captain Gaurav Ghosh.
A couple of days before the tournament began, My Kolkata spoke to Arjun Atwal in an exclusive conversation, refreshing his memories from ’99 and why he always grows nostalgic about Kolkata. Edited excerpts from the conversation follow.
My Kolkata: How does it feel to have an international tournament here in Kolkata after 25 years?
Arjun Atwal: It feels good, but it also feels bad that it didn’t come any sooner. I think people have forgotten the history and tradition of this club. When I won the Indian Open, they used to rotate the Indian Open between Delhi and Kolkata. The last time we were here was in 1999, when I won. I was shocked that no one ever had the thought to bring it back to the home of Indian golf. This is the home of Indian golf, this is the first golf course in India and Asia and the second in the world. I’m very happy that a tournament has come back here, and hopefully it’s the start of bigger tournaments coming to Kolkata.
You played a round with RCGC captain Gaurav Ghosh on March 16 after landing in Kolkata. Has the course changed or is it just as you remember from 25 years ago?
The conditions have improved immensely. In 1999, we didn’t have sufficient budget for the course and the club. Although it was still very playable. But Aveek Sarkar and now Gaurav Ghosh have transformed the course under their captaincy. Now you can have international events here without doubting whether the course can meet international standards. There’s no question about the quality, and I know they will keep improving it.
‘The samosas at RCGC for me are the best in the world’
What is it like being back in Kolkata for the tournament? After all, you are a Kolkata boy who has grown up playing at the RCGC and Tollygunge Club.
It feels good. I haven’t really thought much about the tournament because when I’m back home, I’m more excited about seeing my friends and family. I’d be taking to the course here even if there wasn’t a tournament. I’d be playing here or at Tolly every day. Just to relive my memories of growing up, which is the best childhood anyone could have. Even at 51, I tend to get nostalgic. The venue matters a lot to me. Since I’ve played a lot of tournaments by now, the tournament doesn’t excite me as much as the venue.
Is there anything specific you always do when you are back in the city?
The food. I love the food here. I have to have fresh bhetki every day. I have to have the prawns and the Nizam rolls. Mostly the stuff I grew up on. The samosas at the RCGC for me are the best in the world. And at The Tollygunge Club, there are other things I like. So, it’s the food and my friends and my brother, Govind, who lives here.
‘I’m just going to have fun and enjoy playing on this golf course’
Atwal enters The Kolkata Challenge Tour as the oldest man in the field
What are your expectations of this tournament and have you set yourself any particular target?
No, I haven’t. I have no expectations, I haven’t set any targets. I’m just going to have fun and enjoy playing on this golf course and we’ll see where things end up. I’m at a stage where I don’t really have to prove anything to anybody. I’ve won on every tour that I’ve played on. Obviously, every tournament I play, I want to win, and that mindset doesn’t change. But I’m going to be the oldest man in the field, and I’m giving up a lot of yardage to these young guys. So, we’ll see. Maybe the experience will come in handy!
There is nobody in this field who has been as regular as you on this course. So you probably have an advantage there...
Being older, I’m not as strong as I used to be in ’99, when I could hit it just as far as anybody else and that does matter a little bit. But you’re right, some of the nuances on this course are things only the locals know. It’s not something you can learn over a practice round or two.
‘I’ve evolved to the point where I don’t really care about what people think of what I do on the golf course anymore’
You have been playing golf for close to three decades now. When you started, you obviously had a sense of joy and love for the sport. Has it endured or evolved? What stage are you at now with your love for the sport?
I like tournament golf more now because I don’t put so much pressure on myself anymore. When you’re younger and you haven’t won a tournament, you always think about whether you can do it or not. But when you cross that hurdle and then you have the world’s expectations on you, you try to live up to that. I’ve evolved to the point where I don’t really care about what people think of what I do on the golf course anymore because, like I said, I have nothing to prove. As far as the joy for the game goes, I still love it. On days when my body feels okay and it doesn’t hurt as much, I know I can still play, so that keeps me going. The day I feel I can’t win anymore is when I’ll stop playing.
Now that you do not put that pressure on yourself, do you think more freely when you are playing?
Yes, that does happen. Back in the day, once a tournament started, I got locked into what I was doing. That hasn’t changed, my intensity is still the same, even though people may think that I’m not intense because I don’t show it. But I’m deeply intense when I’m playing a tournament. The world is shut out to me and I’m just involved in what I’m doing. That’s something that will never change.
‘I brought out my ball bag and just hit balls for eight hours everyday’
Atwal has several fond memories from the Indian Open 25 years ago, when his family was present to see him lift the trophy
Apart from lifting the trophy at the RCGC in ’99, do you have other special memories from that tournament?
My parents, because I lost them recently. I go back to that photograph where I was standing with the trophy and my mom, dad and brother were with me. For an Indian, winning the Indian Open is the biggest win. It’s your national tournament, so there’s a sense of pride. For me, winning the tournament here, the golf course where I started playing golf, and to come through that weekend, was immense joy. I can still remember the 18th hole, and I can remember most of the shots I hit that day. It was a fantastic week!
It was one of those tournaments where you could just close your eyes and remember everything and recount every step of the way.
Indeed. I can remember the week before and what I did to get ready for the tournament. I had had a terrible run in Australia and I came back to Tolly, and it was one of the hottest Marches in Kolkata that year. I went out to the 16th hole in Tolly and I didn’t take permission from anybody. I brought out my ball bag and just hit balls for eight hours every day down the tightest fairway on the 16th, where there’s a wall on the left and water on the right. It brought my focus back in. I did this for the whole week going into the Indian Open. I didn’t play on the golf course, I just kept hitting balls till I got my touch back. When I showed up at the RCGC, I knew that I was good to go.
Lastly, what is the future of Indian golf looking like from your perspective? Do you see any talents that excite you?
I’ll find out this week. I’ve been looking at scores of the Indian Tour. I always keep an eye on it and I see some fantastic scoring. I don’t really know the kids personally because I don’t live here, but I know of a few of them who have been playing well. Hopefully, I get to meet a few of them this week and see what they’re all about.
