New Delhi: Less than 100km north of the national capital lies the mofussil town of Panipat, best known for its historic medieval battles. More recently, it has come to be associated with double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra who hails from Khandara village that lies in the district. Of course, by sheer virtue of it being located in Haryana, wrestling remains the numero uno affliction in the region, and so, the idea of golf taking shape in these parts is as unlikely as it is asinine.
Shubham Jaglan, therefore, stands out as a stark anomaly, and not just due to his pronounced US accent. The 20-year-old, who comes from Israna village in Panipat, has taken his first steps towards realising his great American dream by qualifying for PGA Tour Americas this summer via Q-School.
PGA Americas is a pathway for golfers to qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour and the final stage of the PGA Tour Q-School. In his four starts on the tour so far, Jaglan has made the cut twice, with his latest outing at the BioSteel Championship last week earning him a tied-third result.
Spanning North and South America, the second edition of PGA Tour Americas features 16 events with six events in the Latin America Swing (Segment I) from March to May and 10 events in the North America Swing (Segment II) from July to September.
After the first 15 events, the top 120 players on the PGA Americas Points List will be eligible for the Fortinet Cup Championship where the top-10 will earn exempt Korn Ferry Tour membership for the 2026 season and top 80 will retain PGA TOUR Americas membership through Segment I of 2026.
In addition to 10 exempt Korn Ferry Tour cards, up to five conditional Korn Ferry Tour cards are available to the top two finishers in the Latin America Swing and the top three finishers in the North America Swing, if these players do not finish in the top 10 on the final Fortinet Cup Standings. A top-20 finish on the Korn Ferry tour will guarantee the PGA card for the next season.
“I have very crucial 18 months coming up and I back myself to make the cut for the PGA Tour. That’s been a childhood goal,” Jaglan said. Billed as a child prodigy thanks to a spate of junior titles in his early years, Jaglan’s initiation into golf was fortuitous.
His uncle, Joginder Pal, is a retired Greco Roman wrestler who had represented India while all his cousins wrestled at various levels. Jaglan’s parents owned a patch of land on which they grew seasonal crops.
“Everyone at the village wrestled. I had no business taking up golf. Our lives changed when a golf academy came up in our village,” Jaglan, who was enrolled there as a five-year-old by his grandfather, recalled.
“My grandfather wanted me to do something different. On my part, I was impressed by the expansive greens and the open spaces. I took an instant liking to the sport.”
The academy packed up within months as the trainees found the costs too high, but Jaglan had found his calling. His father shaved off their land and made makeshift greens for Jaglan to practice, but sensing that his son needed a professional set-up, the Jaglans shifted base to Delhi. The then seven-year-old soon found his way to Delhi Golf Club with the help of Golf Foundation which is run by 1982 Asian Games gold medallist and Arjuna awardee golfer Amrit Luthra.
At DGC, Jaglan was mentored and coached by Nonita Lall who opened him to the US collegiate system. Four years back, aged 16, Jaglan flew to the US and enrolled in a full scholarship finance course at University of South Florida.
“I think it’s an amazing ecosystem for developing yourself on the course as well as off the course. I played four years of college golf and, you know, I’m very happy that I made that decision because I feel like my game developed a lot,” he said.
Slowly but surely, Jaglan began to find his bearings in the States. Though he didn’t have much trouble adjusting to his new life — “a lot of people have it much tougher” — getting used to the challenging US courses was daunting. He began working on his short game as well as emotional stability on the course, and the results began to unravel.
In March this year, Jaglan became the first Indian golfer to secure an individual title in an NCAA Division I Men’s College Golf Tournament when he won the Linger Longer Invitational at Great Waters Golf Course in Greensboro, Georgia. He is also the all-time leader in eagles for USF’s men’s golf program, registering 19 during his tenure.
“The setups in college golf are probably one of the hardest on any level, at least that I’ve played. It’s great preparation for professional golf. We played several golf courses that have hosted PGA tour events or Korn Ferry events. The conditions are really hard. The players are really good. It’s awesome to help you develop as a golfer,” added Jaglan who will next compete at the Manitoba Open (Aug 21-24).
“I want to go where no Indian has been. The ultimate goal is to win a major and win on the PGA,” concluded Jaglan who also listed winning the Hero Indian Open as one of his near-term goals.
