When Dhruv Sheoran tees off at the Telangana Golconda Masters this week, it will be with a mindset that matches his confidence as a winner on PGTI.
Related: The wait is over as Dhruv Sheoran has his moment on PGTI
Public memory is short, and images of Dhruv’s brief but forceful show of emotion on the 18th green of TNGF Cosmo may have dimmed, but the Chennai Pro Championship winner will keep revisiting the week in late August. Now, that the going is good, but more so in times when golf gets hard.
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The bit on golf being a stern test stands, and the eruption was to let out the angst that had collected since he graduated to the main tour post a phenomenal run on the Feeder Tour.
“The disappointment of misses and near misses through the years left me drained, and the win was like a prick to the emotional baggage,” said Dhruv.
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The belief that he belonged on the pro stage was always there but coping with expectations post the back-to-back wins on the Feeder Tour in 2018 was hard.
The hope stemmed from being competitive on the sports field, be it cricket, football and athletics as a student, and then in golf after he chose it as his vocation.
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Given the uncertainties, the tendency to take risks when in contention did not always work out, and the ensuing fear of falling back had a draining effect on the body and mind.
There were factors outside the golf course too that held him back. That changed with some help from coach Priya Puri. “Through her (Priya) I met a lot of people who believed in me, and I fed off their confidence,” said Dhruv.
He sorted out a lot of things on and off the course, but the trigger to the triumph was the tweak on the greens with help from a fellow pro (name withheld on request). After missing cut the week before in Coimbatore, he got to watch the weekend action from close quarters.
The jottings from the final two days and lessons from the friend on Tour helped Dhruv tweak the arc of his putter, and that proved critical.
“For years, I was a horrible putter, but the correction on the greens freed up my long game as I was confident while putting,” said Dhruv.
From a one-dimensional player, Dhruv’s craft now has a well-rounded look, and this will be his key to bigger glories on Tour.
