Caddy-turned-professional golfer from city wins Hyderabad title

“The win has come after a long time and it feels great to become the first winner of the Golconda Masters in its first edition. As a professional golfer, one needs to travel and it means a lot of spending. The prize money will mean that I will play the rest of the season without worrying about the travel expenses,” said the golfer while talking with Chandigarh Newsline from Hyderabad.

Gupta, whose family resides in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, shifted to Chandigarh in the early 1990s and took up golf when he visited Chandigarh Golf Club with a friend. Coming from a modest background, Gupta became a caddy at the club. He turned professional in 2004 and landed his first title in PGTI championship in 2007 in Chandigarh.

A regular winner in junior categories, Gupta slowly made his mark in the senior circuit. But with wins like Sunday’s coming after long intervals, it is a matter of survival for the golfer who gets free coaching from Amritinder Singh at the Chandigarh Golf Club.

“When I started working as a caddie, nobody in my family knew about it. But they would take pride that I visited Chandigarh Golf Club. My first prize money cheque as a professional golfer was at Noida when I finished in top 10 and those Rs 31,000 meant a lot.  When I won my first title in 2007 in Chandigarh, all the caddies carried me on their shoulders,” said Gupta.

He has been thinking about playing in the qualifying session for the Asian Tour but needs finances. “I will be playing in the Asian Tour qualifying next January and I hope I could win more tournaments like Golconda Masters. I played with international golfers like Gaganjeet Bhullar in Hyderabad. I wish to play like them some day,” said Gupta, who also won the Mumbai Open in 2013.

His five-year-old son Shivang, too, is learning golf at the Chandigarh Golf Club. Gupta wants Shivang to carry on being a golfer and is willing to support his son financially in the coming years. With caddies and golfers helping him with coaching, Shivang is not short of professional help.

“As a caddie, I got a chance to see the sport from close quarters. As a professional golfer, I know to respect my caddie and that’s what keeps us going. My son too loves golf and I make it a point to get him new golf sets with whatever money I earn,” said Gupta.