Despite being only 15 years old, Indian golfer Avani Prashanth has a number of accomplishments to her name. She was the youngest to win both the stroke and match play tournaments at the Indian Golf Union (IGU) All-India Ladies Amateur Golf Championship and is the number one amateur player in India. She also received a special invite to participate at the third edition of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, having been invited personally by Brett Sterba, Director, Masters Tournament, Augusta National Golf Club.
In this exclusive interview with SPOGO, Avani Prashanth speaks about her journey as an amateur golfer, being selected for Global Child Prodigy Award 2022, memorable achievements, overcoming challenges, future goals and more!
Q 1) When were you first introduced to golf and what motivated you to pursue it professionally?
I started my journey into the world of Golf when I was 3 years, 10 months old. My grandparents were visiting my dad in Gurgaon, where he was working. I remember I was jumping all around them insisting that I wanted to go along too, however my father wasn’t paying attention. Lt Col Murthy, my grandfather, coaxed my father to take me along. We went to Manesar Golf Club, near Gurgaon and put me in the junior club. My father just taught me how to hold a club and swing, I swung and made solid contact with the ball. I continued hitting balls for a while and they realized my eye hand coordination was commendable.
My Father then requested Mr. Nathan Sundaram, his friend and IGU certified Coach, to teach me. He was reluctant saying she was too young at 3 years and 10 months. After some persuasion, Coach Nathan did teach me one little thing and told me to practice under the watch of a Caddy. My father and Nathan then walked off to play a round, they returned 4 hrs later after playing 18 holes, to find me still hitting the balls. This convinced my father and Nathan that I was committed and enjoyed playing Golf.
I started learning under coach Nathan initially and then with Mr. Jacob the head coach of Ikoyi Golf Club in Lagos. In 2012 I played my first US kids golf international in Abuja and then qualified for the US kid’s European championships in May 2013. It was then that Kenny Thompson, a Nigerian Golf professional, organizer of the tournament, living in the United Kingdom, called my dad to confirm my participation. When my dad showed tentativeness to take me to the tournament, Mr. Kenny persuaded my dad and said he would under write all their costs of participation in the competition, if we did not enjoy playing in the tournament.
Needless to say, it was a fantastic experience, even though I was only 5.5 years old at the tournament, I felt like I played well and I ended up finishing T15 and convinced my father that I was made for achieving greater peaks in Golf. We went back again next year and this time I finished T7 and qualified to play at the U.S Kids Golf World Championship at Pinehurst, North Carolina State.
Q 2) At just 15 years old, you were selected for Global Child Prodigy Award 2022 as India’s finest amateur female golfer. How proud are you of that accomplishment?
It feels really great to be recognized as a child prodigy, I am very thrilled. I also believe as a prodigy, it is now my responsibility to help grow this wonderful game and continue to significantly improve my performance.
Q 3) How was the feeling of being the only Indian female golfer to have been invited to the Augusta National women’s amateur championships?
It is a fantastic feeling. We had no idea this was coming. The Augusta National Tournament Director reached out to the Indian Golf Union seeking my contact details, wrote to my father and requested to speak to me. When they reached out to my father, I was playing on the golf Course, but the Augusta National Tournament director insisted on speaking to me. My father called me and then we did a conference call and then the tournament director broke the news to me. I was delighted as this is the highest powered Amateur Golf tournament in the world and I, as a 15 year old, was invited to play. I am the first female Golfer from India to play in the tournament.
Q 4) You have achieved a number of things despite being very young, what is your most memorable achievement to date and why?
I won the All India Stroke play and All India Ladies & Girls amateur match-play tournament at the Noida Golf Club in Nov 2021. We played 8 rounds of tournament Golf before I emerged victorious. I am also the youngest ever female golfer to win the above 2 tournaments plus the All India Junior Girls, in one year. That is why it is memorable.
Q 5) What are some of the challenges you have faced in your career so far and how did you overcome them?
2017/2018 were not 2 of my best years. We changed our coach to Laurence Brotheridge, went back to basics, fixed the key issues that were there with my game. We consistently kept measuring progress on the key areas and in 2019, I won 6 out of the 7 IGU tournaments I played in and finished as the Order of Merit leader and I have not looked back since.
Q 6) What are your future goals and ambitions? How do you plan to achieve them?
My goals for 2022 include finishing T-75 in the World Amateur Golf rankings (WAGR), Winning a Gold for India in the 2022 Asian Games in China. I also aspire to represent India at the 2024 Olympics and win a Gold Medal. 2024 onwards I plan to play in the LET and LPGA and become the first Indian to become World No.1 in 2026. My father keeps track of all my key playing statistics and compares it with the World No.1 and I get inspired to play better and better in every aspect of the game.
