If single-minded commitment is the lone factor to ensure success, Laverry Kumar has the potential to go places in Indian women’s golf. She has won four out of five tournaments in her handicap range this year — her first full year in the game — and she’s still only 12.Since June this year, when she graduated to a new set of clubs, Delhi-based Laverry — currently in Mumbai for the Western India juniors — has played all five zonal tournaments for ladies in the silver division (13-24 handicap). Ironically, the only city she didn’t win in was Delhi.‘‘She is talented, no doubt’’, says Irina Brar, the current top-ranked lady golfer. ‘‘If she continues to pursue her passion, she will surely make it to the top.’’Laverry — who doesn’t get to practice the full course length back home in Delhi — started playing golf by sheer chance. She was a champion swimmer who’d already participated in the International Childrens' Games at Cleveland last year.After practicing in the pool at New Delhi’s Siri Fort Complex one day, she happened to try out the driving range. Watching her swing with natural ease, a senior army officer mistook her for a seasoned golfer. He spoke to her father, an advocate with the Supreme Court, and the first set of golf clubs was on its way.She made the cut in her first local tournament, despite being a greenhorn on the green. ‘‘I get time to practice only on Saturdays and Sundays and the club does not allow juniors to play on the course on those day’’, Laverry told The Indian Express.Her golfing days have had their ups and downs. If the tournament wins have been the highs, the glass ceiling has given her some of her lows. Once, after winning one mixed tournament, the vexed club officials refused to give her the winner’s trophy and instead gave her the consolation prize reserved for ladies.There’s also the problem of money — ‘‘Every tournament sets us back by about Rs 30,000’’, her mother Daljit said — and of adjusting golf courses with school courses.But her enthusiasm for the game remains strong. And her parents remain committed to supporting her progress. ‘‘Annika Sorenstam may not have made the cut but that didn’t deter her’’, Daljit pointed out.
