A week for the juniors

The Indian Golf Union has provided the impetus for youngsters to excel. Amateur golf has come a long way and youngsters like Gaganjeet, Himmat, Joseph Chakola, Chirag Kumar and Anirban Lahiri have started making their presence felt and made seasoned veterans like Simarjeet Singh, Jasjeet Singh and Gagan Verma sit up and take notice.

Chirag entered the record books by cracking a five-under 65 to break the course record at the Bangalore Golf Club to clinch the South India Amateur meet in June. Gaganjeet clinched the Eagleton Amateur, while Anirban came into the Northern India fresh from his win at the Coimbatore Open.

Himmat is another youngster who has impressed me. He won the Eastern India and the All India Amateur in his rookie season and now with a second place finish at the Northern India, is definitely one to watch out for.

Veterans like Simarjeet, Manav, Gagan and Jasjeet have failed to win a title this season. Even the previous season was dominated by the young guns with the veterans winning just three titles. This shows the balance of power is slowly but surely shifting towards the youngsters.

The action now shifts to the Jaypee Open followed by the Golden Greens Open from August 8 to 11.

8211;BRANDON DE SOUZA