Kartik's Professional Pathway

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Just over a year ago, Indian Kartik Singh helped the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation team retain the Bonallack Trophy against a strong European side in the United Arab Emirates.

Fast forward to last week, and the 16-year-old marked another milestone in his golf journey by making his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) start as a professional golfer, at a tournament and on a golf course he knows well – the PKNS Selangor Masters at Seri Selangor Golf Club in Malaysia.

Kartik played in the event as an amateur in 2023, following a runner-up finish at the preceding week’s Selangor International Junior Golf Championship, both at the same venue. He returned in 2024 for the junior event, finishing fourth.

This time around, with money on the line, Kartik made the half-way cut on the mark, finishing in a tie for 47th.

“I think, right now, my game is pretty well-balanced overall. This week my driver wasn't so good, and I missed some putts. I’ll keep on working hard to be more consistent,” said Kartik.

Kartik turned professional last September and joined the inaugural Indian Golf Premier League, a 10-week high-octane circuit with individual and team formats. He finished sixth in the final standings, racking up two runner-up finishes – including a play-off loss to Kapil Kumar in the third leg at Poona Golf Club – from 10 starts.

In December, Kartik missed out on getting an Asian Tour card via the gruelling qualifying school final stage in Hua Hin, Thailand. Making it to the fifth and final round, he failed to finish among the top-35 who earned their Tour cards – but a 62nd placing was good enough to secure playing rights on the ADT.

Kartik said he'll focus on the ADT this year, while competing for the Mumbai Aces on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) where he holds a full card – thanks to a seventh place finish at last month’s PGTI qualifying school.

“Life as a professional golfer has been good so far, and the last few months have been a great learning experience. It's definitely tougher playing in professional events, as the players are very experienced and the fields are bigger,” said Kartik.

Kartik has played in two editions of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), making waves on both occasions. In 2023 at Royal Melbourne in Australia, as the youngest player in the field at 13 years and nine months, he made the half-way cut and eventually finished tied 59th in testing conditions. The following year at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba in Japan, he earned bragging rights as the best Indian performer in 18th place on even-par 280.

Playing in the AAC and other elite amateur events, Kartik acknowledged, were valuable experiences that helped his transition to professional golf.

“Playing in the AAC and other big amateur events really helped prepare me for professional golf, and get a feel for life on Tour. The top amateurs are almost at the professional level, and the tournaments are run like Tour events,” he said.

Not one to set the bar low, Kartik aims to eventually compete and win at the highest levels of the sport. “My goal is to play and win on the PGA Tour, and hopefully get an Olympic medal.”