Teen golfer Saanvi dons refs role

Bengaluru: For the first time in her fledgling career, promising junior golfer Saanvi Somu walked onto the course without her golf bag. Instead, she turned up at the Bangalore Golf Club as a referee for the two-day BGC South Zone Junior Golf Championship that began here on Tuesday.The 15-year-old, who made the cut along with Avani Prashanth in her first event in Indian colours at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) in Thailand recently, became one of the youngest golf referees in the country.Saanvi got her Certification as Category B (Level 2) Rules Official from the Indian Golf Union (IGU) four years ago. “It was a good experience, seeing how they (referees) see the game. It was nice to see the game from the referee’s point of view,” Saanvi told TOI.Saanvi, who has graduated to Category ‘A’ (15-17 years) as a player, had to give quite a few rulings on her first day as an official. Most aspiring young golfers try to get a certification for better knowledge of the game and understanding of the rules. India’s top pro Aditi Ashok too did her Level 2 course as a 11-year-old. So did top amateur Avani, who did her Level-1 course. “It’s good to know the rules. If you are playing outside India, some of the refs don’t know English and it makes it faster and easier when you know the rules,” admitted Saanvi, who made the semifinals of the All-India Ladies match play event for three years in a row. The Bengaluru teenager, who finished second in a WGAI pro event last year, said this was a one-off and didn’t want to let the opportunity pass by. “I won’t be officiating on a regular basis.”
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