Dream on, dreamer

On my first trip to the US as an impressionable teenager, I came across this line which stayed with me—“if you can dream it, you can do it”. Many people of stature have said something on similar lines and admittedly, it does sound a little corny, but it settled somewhere in the back of my head. Maybe it was the setting— a family outing at Disney World, specifically a show that documented the history of the land of dreams.

It was gripping enough and so was this light-haired angel I happened to be seated next to. I had reached the stage where I was floating away with her when dad stomped into the dream and announced that it was time to hit the roller coaster next door.

I wonder what dreams Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia conjured up as a kid, chipping and putting on the Royal Calcutta Golf Club greens by the day and, at times, by moonlight? Winning golf tournaments, perhaps? While my thoughts were cut short early, Chowrasia has got further than he would probably have dreamed.

Sure, Jeev Milkha Singh has put together another amazing season but if there is one standout image for 2008, it is Chowrasia clutching on to a trophy about his size at the Delhi Golf Club after a dream run at the Emaar-MGF Indian Masters. The stature of the tournament he won and the goodies that came with it was the stuff fairytales are made of—in terms of money, a little over $400,000 (Rs 2 crore), which is the biggest pay cheque for an Indian sportsperson at home.

He also earned exemptions on the European and the Asian Tours till 2010. There was a sponsorship from golf philanthropist Gautam Thapar. Even the usually tight-fisted Delhi Golf Club threw in playing rights for the new star of Indian golf.

But Jeev—what a ride he’s been through! Year 2006, and he can do no wrong—two wins in Japan, one on the Asian Tour and a seasonending biggie in Europe (this after a seven-year winless streak). He becomes the first Indian to break into the world’s top 50 and that gets him into all the majors in 2007. But then 2007 doesn’t turn out so good. All a matter of expectations.

He expects too much from himself and those who follow him now expect him to keep bringing in the titles, and his golf goes off track. This year, he’s back on song. After coming agonisingly close in Indonesia and Korea, he gets his break at the Austrian Open. The global golfer wins again, this time on his favourite tour in Japan.

As 2008 draws to a close, Jeev has plenty left in the tank. He scores in the Asian Tour’s biggest event, the $5 million (Rs 25 crore) Barclays Singapore Open, winning the Order of Merit for the second time in three years. And just when we were thinking that he was done for the year, Jeev wins the seasonender in Japan, the same week as his wife Kudrat delivers a stillborn child. Superhuman stuff!

In between, Arjun Atwal, who has been struggling on and off the golf course for some time, regained his PGA Tour card with a win on the Nationwide Tour, which is the second-rung tour in the US. There’s plenty to look forward to in 2009.

Prabhdev Singh is Editor, Golf Digest India