The Kid and the Old Pro sounds like an old-time sports movie.
It will play out today for real at Uplands in the first round of the Bayview Place DCBank Open presented by the sa国际传媒. The 14-year-old prodigy Abhay Gupta, the youngest player ever in a Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour sa国际传媒 event, tees off in the same group as European, Asian, PGA and Champions tour veteran Jim Rutledge of Victoria, who turns 60 in August.
The age and experience gap in that grouping couldn鈥檛 be more striking.
North Carolina native Gupta was among eight Monday qualifiers at Gorge Vale. The previous youngest golfer to play in a Mackenzie Tour event was Matt Hopley of Kelowna, who was 15 when he qualified for his hometown GolfBC Championship tournament in 2017.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think about age,鈥� said Gupta.
But the uniqueness of the moment isn鈥檛 lost on him: 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of semi-hit me about being in a pro tournament so young.鈥�
But this is what he has dedicated his life to doing. Gupta travels extensively to weekly tournaments, many of which are American Junior Golf Association events, in which he is the runaway top-ranked AJGA player in the U.S. in his age group.
Abhay is accompanied by his dad Kapil Gupta, an MD and mental-performance coach, whose clients have included Silicon Valley CEOs and Canadian athletes such as former Masters champion Mike Weir and four-time Olympic gold-medallist hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser.
Chasing the golf dream has necessitated Abhay to be home-schooled since Grade 1.
鈥淵ou get used to the road and I enjoy seeing different places,鈥� he said.
After failing to Monday qualify for the sa国际传媒 Life Open at Point Grey last week, the opening event of the 2019 Mackenzie Tour season, the Bayview Place DCBank Open will be Abhay Gupta鈥檚 initial career pro tournament. Some believe it is the first of eventually many. Anybody this good this young always gets the 鈥渘ext Tiger鈥� talk. But he shies from that.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one step at a time,鈥� said the soft-spoken youngster, knowing it鈥檚 wise not to get caught up in the hype.
Gupta will play as an amateur this week at Uplands so as not to jeopardize his U.S. NCAA eligibility. Older brother Aman Gupta, who has advanced through the first stages of both the European Tour and Web.com Tour qualifying schools, is a freshman on the defending-NCAA champion Oklahoma State team.
Abhay Gupta is undecided as to whether he will turn pro at 18 or play in the NCAA.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough decision,鈥� said Gupta, who returns to junior play in the U.S. next week.
It鈥檚 also a long way off since Abhay doesn鈥檛 graduate high school until 2023. It鈥檚 easy to forget he can鈥檛 drive for another two years.
Dad Kapil was born in India and raised in Toronto before moving to North Carolina, so Abhay is a dual citizen. Maybe it鈥檚 that Canadian part of him that also made Abhay a rising rep hockey player in North Carolina, making state-level teams along with his brother Aman.
鈥淚 was as good in hockey as in golf and I had to make a decision,鈥� said the avid Carolina Hurricanes fan.
鈥淚 liked the individual-sport aspects of golf better than the team aspects of hockey.鈥�
The trip to sa国际传媒 has been a whirlwind. After not qualifying for Point Grey, Gupta came to the Island and prepared for Monday鈥檚 Bayview Place DCBank Open qualifier at Gorge Vale by golfing a few rounds at Bear Mountain.
鈥淚鈥檝e never seen anything like that course on Bear Mountain. It鈥檚 one of the most scenic I have been on,鈥� he said.
The mountain air apparently prepared him well as Abhay won a playoff hole Monday at Gorge Vale to earn one of the last eight qualifying berths into the Bayview Place DCBank Open.
鈥淚t was nerve-wracking but I pulled it out,鈥� he said.
Veteran pro Rutledge is happy for the young man鈥檚 early success and said he will follow his career with interest.
鈥淭his is a fabulous story and very exciting,鈥� said Rutledge.
鈥淚t is obvious he has the ethic and is willing to put in the work.鈥�
Asked if he had one word of advice for Gupta as the aspiring golfer looks ahead to his career, Rutledge replied: 鈥淧atience.鈥�
Rutledge, who in 2007 became the second-oldest rookie in the history of the PGA Tour, knows a thing or two about that.
You can鈥檛 force things in this game and that is something Rutledge learned well in his many years travelling as a pro golfer. Rutledge won tournaments as far afield as the Indian Open in Delhi on the Asian Tour and New Zealand PGA Championship on the Nationwide (now Web.com) Tour and rubbed shoulders with the best twice in the British Open and later played against the golden oldies former PGA Tour stars on the Champions Tour.
But Rutledge never forgot where it began and said the foundation for his career was laid by his six tournament victories on the Canadian Tour.
鈥淭his is where it all starts,鈥� he said.
He comes full circle, back playing at his home course, where he is also on the greens crew in his second golf career.
鈥淲hen you鈥檝e been a playing pro all your life, you show up for tournaments and the courses all look great. You don鈥檛 think about it,鈥� said Rutledge.
鈥淚鈥檝e been so long on the outside looking in. Being on the greens crew here at Uplands has shown me all the hard work that goes into it.鈥�
That鈥檚 something a 14-year-old prodigy will also eventually appreciate in the fullness of time.
The Bayview Place DCBank Open runs today through Sunday at Uplands with a first-place prize of $36,000. The champion will earn a berth into the PGA Tour鈥檚 Canadian Open next week in Hamilton, Ont.
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