Rayhan Thomas to join Aman Gupta in Stage-II of European Tour Qualifiers
24 year old UAE born Indian national Rayhan Thomas, a graduate from the top ranked US college golf program Oklahoma State University (OSU), who turned pro a few months ago, is the only Indian attempting to get through the European Tour’s qualifying tournaments to earn 2025 playing rights.
During the 1st stage of Qualifying, played in England, Rayhan finished 10th and moves to Stage II, Oct.31- Nov. 3 in Spain.
Thomas will be joined at Stage II by his former OSU teammate Aman Gupta, another promising U.S.-born golfer of Indian descent. Aman finished third in another Stage 1 qualifier in Bristol to also make it through to Stage II.
Another Indian-origin player, Varun Chopra, PGTI’s 2023 Rookie of the Year, could not progress beyond Stage I, which he played in Sweden.
Strangely no Indian pro is attempting to qualify for Europe, a tour where Shubhankar Sharma alone flies the Indian flag and where a few years ago at least 4 Indians were regulars including SSP Chowrasia, Shiv Kapur and Gaganjeet Bhullar.
Hopefully Veer Ahlawat, should he finish 2024 as #1 on the domestic PGTI rankings can make an impact thanks to automatic full playing privileges the India #1 is granted by the European Tour.
Photo – Gulf News