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It was a historic day at DLF Golf and Country Club for Indian amateur Kartik Singh, as he made the cut at International Series India, the youngest-ever player from the subcontinent to do so on the Asian Tour.
Singh carded a one-under-par 71, taking him to a four-over total at the halfway stage and safely inside the cut line which fell at eight over. Having only played one Asian Development Tour event previously this was Singh's second appearance in a professional tournament, with a field that he could have only dreamed of previously, featuring the likes of two-time Major winner Bryson DeChambeau, home favourite Anirban Lahiri and fellow LIV Golf League star Joaquin Niemann. The world no.1 Under-15 amateur admitted that familiarity with his home course played to his advantage. In a press release, he said, "It feels unreal playing with Bryson, because normally I'm looking at him on TV, and here I'm playing with him in the same tournament, so it's a great experience. I knew this is my home course, so I definitely have that advantage and then I know if my game is at that level and if I play my game, I'm able to compete with the pros." "The experience was very good today. Today, I played quite well, I played one under. I was four under after 11 holes, but it's okay. I mean, I'm still happy with one under par on this course. Yesterday was not that good, but I'm still happy that I was able to make the cut, and hopefully, I can play well this weekend," he added. The tournament, located in Gurugram on the outskirts of Delhi, has been affected by the weather with round two only finishing on Saturday. Singh has honed his skills at DLF Golf Academy and has always had the support of his family. Despite his youth, his demeanour reflects that of a seasoned pro. "My family has always supported me since I started golf. My coach, 'DP' has helped me with my game, and DLF Golf Academy and Callaway have also helped me with my practice. I was practicing elsewhere the last three weeks, so I came back on Saturday. I only played this week, like the tournament week, only the normal practice round so I wasn't able to play the course beforehand but I know it so well." An impressive 10 Indian's made the cut, on the testing Gary Player-designed course, with Lahiri (-1) leading the way. No other Indian was under par at the halfway stage, with Gaganjeet Bhullar the nearest challenger at two over. International Series India is the first of 10 events on The International Series in 2025, with the next event coming at International Series Macau presented by Wynn, a tournament that saw Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, John Catlin come out victorious. (ANI)
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