Subhash Tamang, who comes from a humble background, became the first golfer from Nepal to win the prestigious All India Amateur Championships run by the Indian Golf Union.
Tamang, who was almost 10 when he first held a golf club, beat Rohit of India 9&7 to win the 122nd edition of the tournament at the iconic Royal Calcutta Golf Club.
The 21-year-old Tamang, who was neck-and-neck with Rohit for the first 15 holes, pulled away to 3-up after 18 holes. In the afternoon session he was unstoppable, and the match ended when he was nine ahead with seven holes left.
“It is the happiest moment of my life,” said Tamang, who came over to India in 2022 to hone his skills under an India pro, Tarun Sardesai at his academy near Bengaluru.
Tamang’s performances earned him starts at the prestigious Asia Pacific Amateur Championships and other internationals, but this is his biggest win.
Tamang was first spotted by Tashi Ghale, a Nepalese businessman and the President of Nepal Golf Association. Ghale took him to Deepak Acharya, the Director of Operations, and a teaching professional at Gokarna Golf Club, where Tamang trained and played.
Then around the start of 2022, Ghale and Acharya helped Tamang to get to India and train with Sardesai, who now trains the Nepal team.
Tamang, who was 54th at Asia-Pacific Amateur Championships in 2022 in Thailand, missed the cut at the AAC this year in Melbourne. His best world rank has been 105th but was ranked 153rd at the start of the week. Now this latest win could once again bring him closer to career-best rank.
The flagship event of the IGU, the All-India Amateur Championships began with a 36-hole stroke play event to narrow the field down to 32 for the Matchplay section.
Tamang was fourth in the 36-hole stroke play at the start of the week, he made his way through numerous rivals to reach the final. His toughest match came in the first round, when he was taken to extra holes and won on the 19th hole against Kanav Chauhan.
Then he beat Vishesh Sharma in the pre-quarter finals and Dhruv Suri in the quarter finals by similar margins of 4&3. In the semi-finals, he again got good in crucial stages and beat the top seed Altin Van der Merwe of South Africa 3&1.
Earlier in the stroke play team event, South Africa emerged winners with Altin Van Der Merwe and Jordan Clay Burnand leading the charge. The two South Africans lost out in the semi-finals, as Tamang beat Van der Merwe and Rohit eliminated Burnand.
India A with Sandeep Yadav and Rohit were second at 294 and India B comprising Vinamra Anand and Shaurya Bhattacharya were third at 295.
The All-India Amateur Championships is India’s oldest golf tournament having started in 1892. The Championships were not held during the two World Wars and was cancelled once in 2020 due to Covid.
