In 2009, Indian golf took giant strides into the future with many new arrivals. Gaganjeet Bhullar was the cynosure of all eyes.

By Prateek Srivastava

It was most definitely the year of the newcomers. If India got noticed in Asia and across the world’s best greens and fairways, it was because a clutch of young Turks hogged the spotlight as much as their senior pros did.

Gaganjeet Bhullar, who became the youngest Indian to feature in a Major after his British Open debut in July, has undoubtedly drawn more attention than anybody in 2009. Asian Rookie of the Year, Chinnaswamy Muniyappa is another to have caught the headlines after his Indian Open triumph. Anirban Lahiri and Himmat Rai might not have won any title but they firmly announced their arrival and it won’t be long before they join Bhullar and Muniyappa in the winners’ list.

The year however was not as good as expected for the seasoned campaigners. Jeev Milkha Singh, who decided to have more of the PGA Tour this year, came off well in the WGC-CA Championship (fourth), the European Open (tied 5th), the Celtic Manor Open (tied 6th) and the Turning Stone Resort Championship in New York (tied 7th).

Jeev might have turned in more such performances but injuries came in his way. His ailments nagged him all through the season. He could not play in the British Open due to a rib trouble. He however made the cuts in the US Open and the Masters, and finished tied 67th in the USPGA. But no wins in 29 tournaments sums up his year. His only consolation has been that despite going down 23 places to 58 in the world rankings, Jeev has been able to keep his PGA Tour card for next season.

Jyoti Randhawa, 216th on the rankings, has been disastrous on the European Tour. He however had three top-ten finishes on the Asian Tour with win in the Singha Thailand Open, but other than that he has nothing to showcase.

Jeev and Jyoti combined at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China late in the year but nothing good came of it. Despite being in contention for a top-10 finish for most part of the championship, the pair was way below par in the final round (an even-par 72), and ended tied 14th in a 28-nation competition.

Shiv Kapur, 361st on the rankings, was no different. He would surely have lost his Asian Tour card had not it been for the rescuing tied 3rd finish at the Cambodia Open in November. And, Arjun Atwal was injury-ridden through most part of the season and the tournaments he played in he did not excite any curiosity.

Amidst their disappointing stories, showman Bhullar held court with the country’s golf lovers. His rise to 167th on the rankings from nowhere is unbelievable. It all began with Sentosa in April where he took the crown out of nowhere, to earn the license for the Open.

Despite missing the cut in the oldest golf tournament, the Kapurthala lad impressed everyone with his big-hearted play. He showed later what a major experience can do to a player. Soon after the Turnberry test, Bhullar triumphed in the Indonesia President Invitational and then ended up runner-up in the Brunei Open and the Macau Open in the following weeks. Bhullar also pocketed 5 PGTI tour titles this year. Can it get better than that for a newbie?

Muniyappa, 396th in world, finally got his reward since turning pro in1997 when he took the Indian Open. Everyone hopes it goes a long way towards getting him more such triumphs. Meanwhile, Lahiri earned four top-10 finishes on the Asian Tour and he is one player, golf pundits speak as one, who has the look of a top player.

Claiming yet another Faldo Series Asia title, teenager Rashid Khan though continues to impress in junior golf but needs a couple of more years to ripen. All in all, it has been a year of newcomers.  The older ones could not do much does not say they are on the decline. In fact they will be all the more revved up for it in the next season.

As we now have more representatives at the international level than ever before, 2010 promises big.