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Fore!

Unlike Julius Caesar, the Ides of March proved to be the lucky day for Feroze Ali. On March 15 last year, the caddy-turned-professional golfer became richer by US $50,010 and an Omega Speedstar watch worth around $4,000.

Starting this Thursday, Feroze turns out for the Wills Indian Open to be played at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, the prize money for which is US $3,00,000.

Hopefully, says Feroze, I can do a repeat this year as well.

It took time for the first Calcutta golfer to win the prestigious Indian Open. “A few years ago”, recalls Feroze, “I had lost in the Classic Open to Sher Ali of Delhi just by one shot. Though I was runners-up, nobody even bothered to look at me."

Today, Feroze is not only basking in international glory but aiming to become the world champion.

Last October, Feroze played in the Subaru Sarazaen World Open championship at Atlanta in the USA, the prize money for which was US $2.5 million. But because of a muscle sprain, he could not make it to the top.

How did it all start for this 29-year-old man?

Feroze was born next to the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in south Calcutta. His father, the late Raushan Ali, first took him to the golf course when he was a toddler. “I used to watch the professionals and the foreigners play. I noticed how they held their clubs, their swing and how they putted. Since then, I fancied the game and started learning”, says Feroze.

As Feroze’s interest in golf developed, his interest in studies started waning. He dropped out of school when he was barely eleven years old and devoted his entire time to golf. Though he is uncomfortable discussing this aspect of his past, he does point out that he is the scion of an under-privileged family where one could never even think of playing an expensive game like golf. But Feroze earned his entry into the elite club by becoming a caddie. However, he prefers to skirt around this issue and instead, to dwell on how a member of the club, S. K. Shah, spotted him and gifted him a golf kit.

Feroze remembers how, in his childhood days, he had become an expert in chopping hickory branches into cute, crude golf clubs. “Those days, the golf kit was not as expensive as it is today but I could not afford one. When I received a kit as a gift, I put all my energy into the game and started practicing six to seven hours a day”, recalls Feroze.

Feroze played his first tournament at the age of 14. In 1984, he played at a small meet in Calcutta, the Warren Open, and earned a position which fetched him a cheque of only Rs1,500.

“I saved the money to buy my ticket to Bombay to participate in the Wills Western India Open in 1987. The prize money was meagre but I had made my entry into the circuit,” says Feroze.

Life became tougher for Feroze within the next few years as his father underwent a surgical operation and expired. “He was the sole earning member in our family. My mother and three brothers were left in the lurch, but I carried on playing golf with the goal of becoming a professional. I remembered the first tips my father gave me, and carried on with more determination," recalled Feroze.

Feroze continued to participate in tournaments, and went on earning positions though he could not win one. His first break in a major international tournament came when he earned a position in the Dubai Creek Open championship in 1995.

The same year he finished runners-up at the Classic Indian Open.

But March 15,1998, was the day he was waiting for. After entering the final round three strokes ahead of his nearest challenger, Dean Wilson of the USA, Feroze kept his nerve and produced an immaculate putting display to win the Classic Indian Open title in a canter.

He finished with 14-under 274, five shots ahead of Wilson, though he had begun rather disastrously, dropping shots in the fourth and seventh holes.

The prize money of US $50,010 came as manna for Feroze, who was already struggling with his large family. Golf had not only made him rich overnight but also provided him with a happy married life. “I was only 19 when I married a fan of mine. I am now quite happy with my two sons who are already interested in the game”, says Feroze.

But, no – he is not going to discuss his family, he won't allow the media into his home, either.

The first thing Feroze did when he got into the money was to book an apartment for his family. “B. D. Sharma, a superintendent of police who fancied my game, helped me a lot. I stashed away the rest to buy my passage for other international tournaments,” he said.

Though Feroze could have bought a car, he is content with his motorcycle. I would, he says with a smile, much rather save that money to fund my participation in the world open championships.

What came as a rude shock in the midst of all the glory was when the elite club, the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, where he virtually grew up, denied him membership reportedly because of his humble background -- this, even after after winning the championship. Peer pressure from influential club members was what finally got him the prized membership, last year, but obviously, the hurt still lingers.

With the win in the Classic Open, Feroze has earned himself invitations to a host of major international golf tournaments. He gets an automatic exemption status on the rest of the Asian tour. In May last year, he participated in the first-ever million dollar tournament, the Kirin Open in Japan where he played against the cream of Japanese and Asian stars.

Though Feroze is rich and famous today, he maintains a simple lifestyle and is as humble as he was. His day starts early. Each morning, he reaches the golf course on his motorcycle and starts practicing for at least four to five hours. This is followed by breakfast and a shower at the club. The early part of the afternoon is spent on planning to play for international tournaments.

Last October, Feroze participated in the Subaru Sarazen World Open at Atlanta in the USA and then in the Omega PGA tournament in Hong Kong but due to a muscle pull, he could not fare well.

However, in the Omega Asian circuit, he is now ranked 15th. At Atlanta, national open champions from over 100 countries had assembled. Feroze rubbed shoulders with US Open champion Ernie Ellis, ranked second in the world, and present British Open champion, Justic Leonard. For Feroze, who has come up the hard way, the event was a dream come true.

What is he going to do with the prize money which he hopes to win in future? “Golf has provided me everything in life. I am a school dropout but I have earned more prestige than being an educated unemployed. So if I earn enough, my aim in life is to set up a golf academy where new players can obtain coaching and the game becomes popular among young men with my kind of background”, says Feroze.