Exuberant and raring to go are the words that best describe Sumeru Bahuguna – the zesty 24-year old stand-up artiste and golf enthusiast, who emerged as the second winner at the 2nd leg of the Prestige Master Series’16, held in the city early this month. The young Bengalurean gets chatty with us, just as he preps up to qualify for the school for the professional golf tour of India.
“I hail from a defense background. My father took premature retirement when I was just three. Growing up after that in Noida, UP and having Delhi just next door provided a lot of exposure. I was never interested in academics and always came home with a terrible marks card, which I often hid. But sports were always a passion. At 12, I began playing cricket at a local club in Noida and then went on to play basketball for my school — Air Force Bal Bharti in Delhi at the district level,” reminisces the youngster.
Ask him about what brought about the change in trajectory from cricket to golf, and he attributes it to his stint in the city. “At 14, we shifted to Bengaluru. I was as a gawky teen I remember playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour on my play station. I was extremely engrossed when my father observed my passion and asked me if I loved the game. I said yes, and the next thing I remember was going to the Army golf course. Since my parents were liberal enough, I quit school and registered for an open schooling.
I started playing on the Indian Amateur Tour at 18 and had my best finish at the western India Amateur Golf Championship, Mumbai in 2011 and The Tamil Nadu Amateur Championship, Coimbatore in 2013 for coming 21st in a field of over 80 of India’s best Amateur golfers,” he elucidates after having played over a 30 national level golf tournaments and 80 club championships.
Being a man with a multitude of interests, he says. “I unwind by performing stand-up comedy gigs at Bengaluru’s Weekly Open Mics. It’s a passion that brings me alive!”
Speaking about what’s next, he says “Getting on the professional Golf Tour of India and establishing myself as a national golf player. I’m an explorer so I’ll see what else can I discover and get myself into!”
