The fairest of them all

A new crop of women golfers are injecting fighting spirit

The young "tigresses" and "tigers" of Indian golf are a determined bunch. Unlike the amateur golf scene in India which has remained somewhat stagnant as an upshot of the growing dominance of the professional circuits, junior golf is vibrant and growing in strength.

India's young golfers are carving the future of the game. They are not just making waves in the Junior circuit but also giving their elders a run for their money as they are increasingly claiming top spots on the scoreboard.

But while a large army of junior boys under 18 andsub-juniors below 14 are joining every year, in contrast, only a hadful of girls are taking to the game, and that too, the drop-out rate is high.

Golf enthusiasts and administrators have been worrying about the paucity of women players in India. The only explanation that seems to be tossed around is that while golf is today a serious career option for men with the professional tour firmly established, there is no such motivation from their female counterparts.

To put records straight, India has so far produced only one woman professional player "" Simi Mehra "" who plays on the LPGA circuit. Nor is there any chance of a women's pro tour in the foreseeable future.

Nonetheless, young women golfers are injecting a new spirit into the game. If 14-year-old Michelle Wie can replace Tiger Woods as a role model for the Indian Junior Girls and for beginners who are cutting their golfing teeth in various Summer Junior Training Programmes at Clubs, women's golf could well be in for a transformation.

Wie, a schoolgirl in Hawaii and a six-footer at age 13, qualified at 10-year-old for the match play at the US Women's Public Links, and has been playing in LPGA events, including the US Women's Open 2003 last season.

More recently, she competed with the men in the Sony Open in Hawaii, missing the cut by just one stroke! Her ultimate goal in golf? To win the Masters at Augusta. What an inspiration she should be for India's youngsters!

Another young Indian "" 11-year-old Tanya Wadhwa, who is studying and playing golf in the US "" is already planning to emulate Wie, although she has always prided herself on having the same initials as Tiger Woods! Wadhwa, had won the Junior World Golf Championship in her category in San Diego in 2002 and was a runner-up in 2003.

Recently, she has been making Junior headlines in the US by winning the Canadian World Junior Challenge in the Girls Division, defeating much older rivals. She is now planning to play the bigger Junior tournaments and, more importantly, making her bid for LPGA events, Wie-style.

Back home, Juniors are already on track as has been highlighted in our women's 2003-2004 circuit. Twelve-year-old Vaishvi Sinha from the Noida Golf Club, who claimed the third position in the Ladies Northern India in November, way ahead of all but two of the Merit List golfers, set the ball rolling.

Neha Majithia of the Delhi Golf Club (DGC), who turned 18 late last year, was next to claim the Sri Lanka national title. In December, dimunitive Manavi Halwasia of the Tollygunge Golf Club won her first "Regional" Championship, the Ladies Eastern India, with ease, despite the pressure of 12th standard examination.

Another fine golfer, DGC's Mayali Talwar, who also turned 18 recently and as a Junior made it to the Indian team for the Queen Sirikit Cup in 2003, has finished as a runner-up in more than one Regional tournament.

Twelve-year-old Shruti Naik, the diligent youngster from Meerut, has played the circuit this year and brought her handicap down from -36 to -12, to leapfrog into the Gold Division, a brilliant achievement.

Apart from the performance of these young players, the most interesting and encouraging development in women's golf is the number of new faces in the Junior ranks to watch on the circuit "" players who hail from a variety of Clubs from all over the country. These youngsters have figured on the leader boards and the prizewinners' lists this season.

Players like Bhavna Shetty from Mysore, Shradhanjali Singh who plays in Jamshedpur, Chandigarh's Kanika Minocha, Lucknow golfer Shrishti Dhaon and the youngest participant in a regional this year, Sharmila Nicollet, all made their presence felt this season and will surely be making their mark in the year ahead. More familiar names like Meghna Bal and Divya Kapur from the DGC are gaining more experience.

In the IGULS Order of Merit for the Gold Division players in January 2004, four Juniors figure in the top 15th rank, along with Neha and Mayali, the last being in 4th spot. Youngsters like Vaishvi Sinha have their goals firmly set.

Asked what her "short-term goals" were, the focused Vaishvi, whose icon is definitely Tiger Woods, says she has no "short-term" goals but has the ambition of being India's best woman golfer, and then, the best in the world!

For the perfect sportswoman 18-year-old Neha Majithia, the role model is Simi Mehra. Neha is well aware of golf as a game played "in the head" and that, in order to survive, one has to be mentally strong.

Dedication is also what brought young Shruti Naik driving in from Meerut and back every day in her first Ladies Northern India at the DG C a couple of years ago, and she has persisted to make the big jump to the Gold Division, a double achievement as she comes from a relatively small club, lacking the facilities others enjoy.

Similar credit goes to the other youngsters who lack the support of strong ladies sections in Clubs like the DGC. The Indian Golf Union Ladies Section, the apex body for women's golf in the country, has to work out how to mobilise this potential and enthusiasm so that these young women can infuse a spirit of excellence and self-belief that has been missing in their half of the game.