Albany (Bahamas), Dec 4 || Aaron Rai, one of the eight debutants in the field of 20 and one of three Indian-origin players in the star-studded World Challenge got off to a fine start winning the Hero Shot, the curtain raiser to the $5 million event hosted by Tiger Woods.
In the final, Rai landed two of three shots on the platform floating between the ninth-hole and 18th-hole greens and beat Jason Day.
The fast-paced event had six competitors picked from the field of 20 who will play the main 72-hole event from December 5 to 8. The event took place soon after Hero’s Executive Chairman Dr Pawan Munjal and Woods announced the extension of their partnership till 2030.
The tournament, which has had an Indian player only once - Anirban Lahiri (in 2016) in the field – will see three players of Indian origin in the field. They are Sahith Theegala, Akshay Bhatia and Aaron Rai, all of whom have won on the PGA Tour.
The three Indian-origin players exemplify the global nature of the game. Rai’s parents are of Indian origin and his mother grew up in Kenya but they are now living in England, where Aaron was born.
Theegala’s parents moved from Andhra in India to the United States, as did Akshay Bhatia’s parents and his mother is currently in India attending a family wedding. Theegala, who celebrates his 27th birthday a day before the event, and Bhatia were born in California.