Of eagles, green jackets & locker room lessons

THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIALabout playing at home — the comfort of familiar fairways, the sound of familiar cheers, and the unmistakable aroma of butter chicken wafting from the clubhouse (which, let’s be honest, is a solid motivator to finish your round early).

- Rahil Gangjee

The DP World India Championship at the Delhi Golf Club had all that and more —drama,nostalgia,anda healthy dose of humility for golfers like me who still believe we can teach these youngsters a thing or two... until they bomb one 330 yards down the fairway and smile innocently. twas a great week for Indian golf — andahumbling one for me.

Day one started with the kind of moment every golfer lives for — a 55-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole.The line looked longerthan some of my hotel corridors, but Itold myself, “Just roll it like you mean it? It dropped dead-centre. The gallery erupted, and fora few glorious seconds, I forgot how old my knees are. I carded a 67 that day — my best round in months — and for that brief walk back to the clubhouse, I felt like I could take on anyone.

Then came day two.

Let’s just say the course had otherplans. Delhi Golf Club can be anangel one dayand a strict schoolteacher the next. My 76 that followed was the sporting equivalent of being sent to detention. The ball didn’t roll, the swing didn’t flow, and even the trees looked like they were plotting against me. It stung to miss the cut, but that’s golf — equal parts beauty and heartbreak, often in the same breath.

But evenas! packed mybags earlierthan planned, I couldn’t stop smiling. Because this week, golf wasn’t the only headline.

The real cynosure of the event was Rory Mcllroy — the man who brought his Masters Green Jacket to Indian soil for the first time. You could feel the buzz ripple through the course the moment hearrived.There he was, World No.2, fresh from conquering Augusta, strolling down our fairways like he’dbeen playing them foryears.Atthe gala dinner,he actually wore the Green Jacket — and when he stood beside Sachin Tendulkar, two GOATs from two very different worlds, you could sense how far Indian sport has come.