IndiaPost.com - Chowrasia wants to help caddies

KOLKATA: Indian Masters champion S S P Chowrasia wants to help caddies make it big in golf and is dying to play alongside Tiger Woods to learn from him the secret of success in the final round of a tournament.

Kolkata boy Chowrasia, whose fairy tale success has seen him graduate from a poor caddie at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club to a top notch professional, is now on the lookout for sponsors who would be ready to dole out USD half a million for him to play in the European PGA Tour. Chowrasia, who returned to the city during the day, received a hero's welcome from the caddies at the RCGC, who mobbed the 29-year old and led him in a procession to the club. Amidst shouts of 'S S P ki Jai', Chowrasia was garlanded and flower petals were showered on him by the caddies and the club officials as he set foot in the club this evening.

"I am dedicating my success in the Indian Open to the club, as also to two of its members Neel Low and Gullu Advani. Low gave me my first set of clubs. Later on, Advani also helped me a lot," said a visibly overwhelmed Chowrasia. As he met the media, surrounded by top RCGC officials, Chowrasia expressed his desire to help out caddies.

"There are other caddies who can make it big. I want to help them," said Chowrasia. "It is easier for a caddie at the RCGC to do well as a player. Because the club members are always there to help him. And if he plays well, he will come up triumphant," said Chowrasia, leaving behind the days when he was chased off the club course by staff members. Chowrasia was candid enough to admit that he had never expected to win the Indian Masters.

"I set out only with the target of doing well," said the ever-smiling Chowrasia. He turned nostalgic when asked to recall the days when he had taken his first nervous steps into the club where his dad worked as a green keeper. "We had our quarter inside. I grew up watching the game, and I loved it. Then I became a caddy. And also started practicing.

I would practice for hours when no one was there on the greens," he said. He also expressed his indebtedness to an RCGC coach Clive Bird. "In 1999, the year I won the Indian Open, I sought tips from him. He changed my stance. I have been sticking to that stance till date," said Chowrasia, who left behind the likes of Damien Mcgrane, Ernie Ells and Gaurav Ghei to win the Delhi event yesterday. Turning to the immediate future, Chowrasia said he was looking forward to playing with his role model Tiger Woods.

"Tiger Woods is my role model. I want to play with him and ask him how one should keep one's cool to win the final rounds," said Chowrasia, who had got the acronym 'bridesmade' for his repeated failures on the final day of tournaments despite leading the field in the early rounds.