Sandhu hunts for maiden foreign win

Hindustan Times

4 hours ago

New Delhi: At the start of the year, when Yuvraj Sandhu sat with his coach Gurbaaz Mann to chalk out his season, he was clear on setting one anomaly right — he wanted to start winning outside India. A consistent performer on the domestic Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Tour where he finished sixth in 2021, second in 2022 and 13th in 2023, Sandhu had a chastening rookie season on the Asian Tour in 2024 where he made the cut in only four of the 16 tournaments. Golfer Yuvraj Sandhu. (PGTI)
'I was very clear that I had to start winning overseas. Winning on PGTI is a bonus but the focus truly is on winning internationally. I came close to qualifying for The Open last year but missed the chance,' Sandhu, who resumed his PGTI season at the inaugural Coal India Open (August 5–8) at the Kensville Golf and Country Club in Ahmedabad, said. The 28-year-old showed no signs of rust in securing a fifth place as Angad Cheema, with an incredible 13-under, surged to a commanding win.
Coming off a stellar start to the Indian tour that saw him make six cuts from eight outings including two wins and three other top-five finishes, Sandhu carded a solid six-under to maintain his hot streak.
However, lack of success on the Asian Tour is something that's been troubling the 28-year-old for a while now. Sandhu retained his 2025 Asian Tour card by virtue of ending the 2024 season inside top-60, and has managed to make the cut in only two of the six appearances — at the International Series iterations in India and Macau.
'It's been tough going. So far, my Asian Tour season has been very scattered, but I'm really excited for the back half because it is actually quite packed. I'm looking forward to the courses that we're going to play because I'm quite familiar with most of them. I can sense a win coming this second half on the Asian Tour,' he said.
'Success on the PGTI tour is a bonus, but my real target is winning overseas. There's quite a bit of difference in golf abroad and golf in India, which means you can't really drop a shot outside. You make a bogey and you're way out. Scoring and cut lines have become a lot tighter now that the LIV players have joined the Asian tour,' Sandhu added.
Another learning has been dealing with the logistics. In his debut season, Sandhu would spend a lot of time planning his travel and expenses, something he got a hang of by the time his season ended.
'I have got a lot better at that now. The biggest challenge is the time zone difference, your body feels different, there are longer flights, there are layovers, and there are so many back-to-back events happening. Sometimes, the shortest cost-efficient transit would be 24 hours. All of that affects your body and the game,' he said.
The likes of Sandhu, Veer Ahlawat, and Manu Gandas have long been hailed as the future of Indian golf, but none of them have been able to replicate their success on the international tours. Gandas and Ahlawat have played on the DP World Tour thanks to topping the PGTI Order of Merit but have never really got going, while the seasoned Shubhankar Sharma last won on the European Tour in 2018. On the Asian Tour, the last Indian to win a tournament was Gaganjeet Bhullar in 2023.
'Everybody keeps asking where the next win is coming from but no one asks about the infrastructure,' Sandhu rued. 'For starters, we need more high quality public courses. We need to have better course facilities for professional golfers to just come out and play in practice without having to pay a hundred dollars green fees to play a course like DLF, or pay 5,000 bucks to play like a course like Prestige (Bengaluru).'
'As India No.1 right now, I honestly don't see the infrastructure coming up. Yes, we have increased money, but we are way behind world ranking points, something nobody talks about. Truth is, we are not really aware of the quality of golf abroad. We need proper turf managers to manage courses. We need to educate players about the sport itself. There are so many juniors and amateurs who ask me about adjusting the speed of the putter abroad. The sad part is, every time I play abroad, I have to spend 3-4 hours on the putting green to get used to it. Players coming from better courses don't have to do that,' he explained.
Teething troubles notwithstanding, Sandhu is geared up for the second half of the season that will also see him tee off at the $4 million DP World India Championship later this year at the Delhi Golf Club.
'I'm looking at playing eight weeks in the next 11. After Ahmedabad, I'll be playing the Mysuru Open and Clover Greens, and then I'll go to Indonesia for the Mandiri Open,' he said.