(L-R) Vijay K Singh – Vice Chairman, DDA, Winner Tapendra Ghai, and Amit Govil – Chairman, Calance Group
Last week’s leaderboard on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) with youngsters dominating, was different and welcome from the Tour norm. The inaugural ₹1 crore Calance Open, held at Delhi’s Qutab Golf Course from April 15-18, concluded with a strong showing from the younger cohort of players. All top-8 finishers were aged under 30, marking a notable departure from the veteran-led leaderboards that have long characterised domestic events.
29-year-old Tapendra ‘Tapy’ Ghai from Gurugram stood firm in the final round to clinch his second career title, seven years after his maiden win at the 2018 Kensville Open. He earned the winner’s cheque of ₹15,00,000, boosting his position from 53rd to 15th on the PGTI Rankings.
Ghai shot rounds of 64-67-62-70 to finish at 17-under 263, securing a narrow victory over Delhi boys Arjun Prasad and 7-time PGTI winner Honey Baisoya, both of whom ended one stroke behind at 16-under 264.
For a tour that has often seen its top order packed with veteran names, the Calance Open captured a rare and promising snapshot of the youth within Indian golf.
26-year-old Arjun Prasad, who continues his pursuit of a maiden PGTI title, delivered the lowest round of the final day with an 8-under 62 to rise 10 places on the leaderboard and finish tied-second with Baisoya. Prasad’s consistent form this season includes five Top-10 finishes and two runner-up results, pushing him to 2nd place in the PGTI Rankings with earnings of ₹46,57,749 till now.
24-year-old Kshitij Naveed Kaul, another strong Delhi prospect, stood out earlier in the week by setting the course record of 60, which is also most likely the lowest 18-hole score in the history of PGTI (since no one has ever scored 59) before wrapping up his tournament with a final round 64 to take solo fourth at 15-under 265.
Further down the order, Dubai-based youngster Yash Majmudar fired back-to-back 63s to finish tied-fifth at 14-under 266, along with Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Sandhu and Ludhiana’s Pukhraj Singh Gill, who both signed off with final-round 69s.
This week features two simultaneous PGTI-sanctioned events before the mid-season break begins:
- The 3rd edition of the ₹2 crore Kapil Dev-Grant Thornton Invitational at Prestige Golfshire Club from April 24–26 debuts a mixed format in the first-ever co-sanctioned event by PGTI and the Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI).
This marks India’s first professional golf event featuring both men and women competing for the same purse, with 60 male and 12 female professionals in a 54-hole format.
The ₹60 lakh PGTI Players Championship was also played simultaneously at Classic Golf & Country Club in Manesar from April 22–24.