Hyderabad: In a testimony to the remarkable success of the DLF Golf Excellence Program, Manu Gandas and Kartik Sharma stood 2nd and 13th in the Professional Golf Tour of India held in Hyderabad respectively. There were also many firsts achieved during the week. For the first time, there were two sub-60 scores on a single day, both scored by DLF students – Manu Gandas (58) and Kartik Sharma (59), during the second round, where the Par was reduced to 68. Along with the victory of Jahanvi Bakshi in the Leg 7 of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour, a win on both the Men and Women’s Tours in the same week could again be a first of sorts.
This is the first professional title for Manu Gandas, with a score of 22 under Par. Manu’s previous best finish was a 2nd place finish at the Glade One Masters 2021.
Thrilled upon his win, Manu Gandas said, “This win has been a long time coming; I’ve waited six years for this. The game has been good for some time now, although the breaks because of COVID restrictions have been difficult to handle. I would like to thank DLF for their support for many years and my coach Anitya Chand, for always being by my side and helping me through my journey. Am looking forward to the upcoming season.”
Both Manu and Kartik are among the 12 golfers selected for the DLF Golf Excellence initiated by DLF in 2017. As part of this initiative, DLF Foundation (DLF’s philanthropic arm) is rendering end-to-end support in areas of golf training, fitness, nutrition, equipment, travel and overall development to these golfers. International consultants and coaches have been engaged to develop these golfers into world-beaters. In the last four years, the program has produced India’s number one golfer in the Men Amateur, Junior Boys, Ladies and Junior Girls divisions.
Commenting on the achievement, Anitya Chand, Head Professional, DLF Golf Academy, said, “As Head Pro of the DLF Golf Academy and coach to both Manu and Jahanvi, it is heartening to see the results of last week. They both work extremely hard at their games and have put in a lot of work over the last few months. Their success will inspire all the talented boys and girls of our Academy to work harder and strive for greater heights.”
Note: Jahanvi Bakshi, another DLF protégé, has won the Leg 7 of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour
Currently, 12 golfers are being mentored under this program. Until now, this initiative has given wings to the dreams of 19 golfers in the country. Kartik Sharma, Sunhit Bishnoi, Jahnavi Bakshi and Hitaashee Bakshi have all risen to the top of their categories and represented India in several international tours. Kartik Sharma represented the Rest of the World team at the Junior President’s Cup held in Melbourne, Australia, in 2019. He also won the New South Wales Amateur Championship in 2019. In 2020, Kartik, Jahanvi and Hitaashee took membership of the PGTI and WGAI, respectively and turned to the professional ranks. While Kartik Sharma has a top-10 finish and a record-breaking round of 59 under his belt as a Professional, both Jahanvi and Hitaashee have secured victories on the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour.
