Shiv Chowrasia

Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (born May 15 1978), also known as "Chipputtsia",cite web|url=http://www.asiantour.com/player.htm;jsessionid=444552AED7AD2356B375414475FDC1CC?id=182 |title=S. S. P. Chowrasia|work= [http://www.asiantour.com Asian Tour] |accessdate=2008-02-10] is an Indian professional golfer. After he turned professional in 1997, he went on to win eight titles on the Indian Tour and finished second twice in the Indian Open.cite web|url=http://www.sabcnews.com/sport/other/0,2172,163933,00.html |title=Former caddie wins Indian Masters golf title|work= [http://www.sabcnews.com SABC News] |accessdate=2008-02-10|date=2008-02-10]

In February 2008, he won the inaugural Indian Masters, which was a part of the 2008 European Tour.cite web|url=http://sports.in.msn.com/stories/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1175792 |title=Chowrasia wins inaugural Indian Masters golf title |work=Indo-Asian News Service|accessdate=2008-02-10|date=2008-02-10]

Early life

Chowrasia's father worked as the greenskeeper at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in Kolkata, India. It was at this golf course that Chowrasia picked up golf at the age of 10. The self-taught golfer is nicknamed "Chip-putt-sia" because of his short game.

Professional breakthrough

Before entering professional golf, he was a caddie for a few years.cite web|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080210/jsp/sports/story_8884640.jsp |title= Chowrasia does a Houdini |work=The Telegraph (Kolkata) |accessdate=2008-02-10|date=2008-02-10] After entering professional golf in 1997, his earnings at the end of 1998 were $1,220. Chowrasia finished second to Arjun Atwal in the 1999 Indian Open held at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club.cite web|url=http://newspostindia.com/report-36333 |title= Beyond My Wildest Dreams, Says Victor Chowrasia (Profile Feature) |work= [http://newspostindia.com News Post India] |accessdate=2008-02-10|date=2008-02-10]

He joined the Asian Tour in 2006 after making steady progress in India with cumulative earnings being $36,983 along with eight Indian Tour titles.

His first season in the Asian Tour had a good opening event in the Pakistan Open, top-20 finishes in Philippine Open and in China. This was followed up with a top-10 finish at Bangkok Airways Open. At the Mercuries Masters in Taiwan, he led the field by five shots at the halfway mark, but was disqualified for forgetting to sign his scorecard.

At the 2006 Hero Honda Indian Open, he narrowly missed out on winning the title. The title that won by Jyoti Randhawa, was decided by a play-off.cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/2006/10/24/stories/2006102404451900.htm |title= Short `birdie' gives Randhawa the title |work=The Hindu|accessdate=2008-02-10|date=2006-10-24|last=Rao|first=Rakesh] He ended 2006 with a tenth place in Volvo Masters.

After being one stroke behind the leader on the opening day of the 2007 Malaysian Open,cite web|url=http://hrd.rediff.com/sports/2007/feb/08golf.htm |title= Chowrasia one stroke behind leader Rock |work=Rediff.com|accessdate=2008-02-10|date=2007-02-08] he lost ground and ended up finishing tied for 16th at the end of the tournament.cite web|url=http://www.the-sports.org/golf-maybank-malaysian-open-2007-results-s7-c0-b0-g101-t1430-u216.html |title= Maybank Malaysian Open: Results|work= [http://www.the-sports.org The Sports] |accessdate=2008-02-10]

His Asian Tour ranking improved from 38 in 2006 to 32 in 2007.

Indian Masters

The 2008 Indian Masters had golfers such as Ernie Els, Thomas Bjørn, Maarten Lafeber and Ross McGowan along with Indian golfers Arjun Atwal, Gaurav Ghei and Digvijay Singh vying for the title.cite web|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/UK_GOLF/idUKDEL578820080210 |title= India's Chowrasia pulls off upset Indian Masters win |work=Reuters|accessdate=2008-02-10|date=2008-02-10|last=Mehaffey|first=John] The event, which he won with a score of nine under par,cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/7237382.stm |title= Chowrasia secures maiden tour win|work=BBC|accessdate=2008-02-10|date=2008-02-10] fetched him £239,705, which doubled his earnings over the past decade.cite web|url=http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12040_3127635,00.html |title=Maiden win for Chowrasia |work=Sky Sports |accessdate=2008-02-10|date=2008-02-10] He was the only player to achieve sub-par rounds on all four days in this biggest golf event in India.

After winning the title, Chowrasia said:

I never thought that I could win this tournament, but I don't know what I'm going to do in the future. I am sure I will play more both in Asia and Europe, but my ultimate target is to get onto the US Tour.

It is the biggest win of my life. I can't describe my emotions. Only when I get back to Kolkata will it sink in.

This victory was also a record of sorts with him becoming the first golfer to win a European Tour event held at home. Dubious|date=March 2008Chowrasia, ranked 388 in the world before the tournament, obtained a two-year exemption on the European Tour.cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/golf/article3344566.ece |title=S S P Chowrasia claims biggest victory of career |work= [http://www.timesonline.co.uk Times Online] |accessdate=2008-02-10|date=2008-02-10] After Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal, he became the third Indian golfer to win on the European Tour. Shortly after his victory, not only he was ranked 161 in the official world golf rankings, but also he topped the Asian Tour Order of Merit.cite web|url=http://sports.indiatimes.com/SSP_Chowrasia_now_world_no_161/articleshow/2773754.cms |title=Chowrasia now world no. 161, tops Asian Tour Order of Merit |work=The Times of India |accessdate=2008-02-11|date=2008-02-11]

Professional wins (9)

European Tour wins (1)

*2008 Indian Masters (co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour)

Indian Golf Tour wins (8)

* Tata Open plus 7 other wins on the Indian Tour

References

External links

* [http://www.europeantour.com/publish.sps?pageid=127&pagegid=%7BAB0336D2%2DD3C9%2D469B%2DBCB6%2DBFD443B52A34%7D&playerId=35071 Profile on the European Tour's official site]
* [http://www.asiantour.com/player.htm?id=182 Profile on the Asian Tour's official site]