Nickname SSP, Chipputtsia Name Shiv Chawrasia Turned professional 1997 Nationality India Role Golfer Asian tour wins 3 | Professional wins 13 Height 1.65 m European tour 2 Other 10 | |
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Full name Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia Spouse Simantini Prasad Chawrasia Current tours PGA European Tour, Asian Tour | ||
Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia (born 15 May 1978), also known as "Chipputtsia", and "Chow" is an Indian professional golfer. After he turned professional in 1997, he has gone on to win eight titles on the Indian Tour, including two wins at the Indian Open.
Contents
- Early life
- Professional breakthrough
- Indian Masters
- European Tour wins 4
- Asian Tour wins 6
- Indian Golf Tour wins 10
- Team appearances
- References
At the end of the 2014 season he asked the Asian Tour to change the spelling of his last name, previously Chowrasia, to Chawrasia, which is the spelling that is on his passport.
In February 2008, he won the inaugural Indian Masters, which was a part of the 2008 European Tour.
In February 2011, Chawrasia won his second European Tour event winning the 2011 Avantha Masters in New Delhi.
In August 2017, he was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.
Early life
Chawrasia's father worked as the greenskeeper at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in Kolkata, India. It was at this golf course that Chawrasia picked up golf at the age of 10. The self-taught golfer is nicknamed "Chip-putt-sia" because of his short game.
Professional breakthrough
Before entering professional golf, he was a caddie for a few years. After entering professional golf in 1997, his earnings at the end of 1998 were $1,220. Chawrasia finished second to Arjun Atwal in the 1999 Indian Open held at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club.
He joined the Asian Tour in 2006 after making steady progress in India with cumulative earnings being $36,983 along with eight Indian Tour titles.
His first season in the Asian Tour had a good opening event in the Pakistan Open, top-20 finishes in Philippine Open and in China. This was followed up with a top-10 finish at Bangkok Airways Open. At the Mercuries Masters in Taiwan, he led the field by five shots at the halfway mark, but was disqualified for forgetting to sign his scorecard.
At the 2006 Hero Honda Indian Open, he narrowly missed out on winning the title. The title that won by Jyoti Randhawa, was decided by a play-off. He ended 2006 with a tenth place in Volvo Masters.
After being one stroke behind the leader on the opening day of the 2007 Malaysian Open, he lost ground and ended up finishing tied for 16th at the end of the tournament.
His Asian Tour ranking improved from 38 in 2006 to 32 in 2007.
Indian Masters
The 2008 Indian Masters had golfers such as Ernie Els, Thomas Bjørn, Maarten Lafeber and Ross McGowan along with Indian golfers Arjun Atwal, Gaurav Ghei and Digvijay Singh vying for the title. The event, which he won with a score of nine under par, fetched him £239,705, which doubled his earnings over the past decade. He was the only player to achieve sub-par rounds on all four days in this biggest golf event in India.
After winning the title, Chawrasia said:
I never thought that I could win this tournament, but I don't know what I'm going to do in the future. I am sure I will play more both in Asia and Europe, but my ultimate target is to get onto the US Tour.
It is the biggest win of my life. I can't describe my emotions. Only when I get back to Kolkata will it sink in.
Chawrasia, ranked 388 in the world before the tournament, obtained a two-year exemption on the European Tour. After Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal, he became the third Indian golfer to win on the European Tour. Shortly after his victory, not only he was ranked 161 in the official world golf rankings, but also he topped the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
Chawrasia claimed a spot in the 2016 Summer Olympics, representing India along with fellow Indian Anirban Lahiri.
European Tour wins (4)
1 Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour.
European Tour playoff record (0–1)
Asian Tour wins (6)
1 Co-sanctioned by the European Tour.
Indian Golf Tour wins (10)
Team appearances
Professional