16-year-old, Shubham Jaglan has committed to joining the golf team at University of South Florida, in Tampa, starting August 2021. This marks a significant development as in the past, most Indian boys have opted to stay in India to play the robust IGU Amateur or PGTI Pro circuits to develop their games further. The bleak prospects of tournament golf in the region, caused by the pandemic, has probably been a significant factor in Shubham opting to head for US college golf. This is a trend we are likely to see more of in the coming year and perhaps it would have been a better option for some of India’s other top juniors who have opted to stay home and turn pro in the past year.
The teenage star Shubham has topped the IGU merit list multiple times, won over 100 junior national and international tournaments, been a two-time winner of US Kids European Championship and the World Junior Golf Championships 2015 at Torrey Pines, California.
Coming from a humble background, Shubham got introduced to the game at the academy opened in his village of Israna, Haryana and later by the Golf Foundation, which helped him with a scholarship and moving to Delhi.
Talking about his decision of joining the University of South Florida, Shubham said, “ I’m really excited about joining the University of South Florida next year in August to play golf on their team. My coach, Mrs Nonita Lall Qureshi, has always been keen on me playing college golf and I feel we made a great decision!”
When asked on his schedule for the college, he said, “My college starts next year in August. I’ll be there for 4 years playing Division I NCAA golf. My coach, my family, the Delhi Golf Club, the Golf Foundation and the Laxman Public School all helped me out hugely in this process of choosing the right college.”
Shubham was quite upfront about his decision on moving to the US for higher education and the decision arrived after a thorough talking with his peers and other professionals, “ I talked to a lot of people before my decision, mostly professionals and they all suggested, wait till I graduate to turn pro. My team believes that playing division 1 golf for USF will be hugely positive for my game and overall development. I’ll learn a lot about myself and my game during my 4 years there. I feel playing under head coach Coach Bradley, an accomplished person himself will take my game to the next level.”
Bangalore born Rigel Fernandes, a former All India Junior Champion also played at USF from 2013 – 2017 where he had a successful career.