Avani Prashanth, one of India’s most promising young golfers, sat down with her coach after the LPGA qualifying series in the United States, where things went downhill dramatically despite her feeling optimistic about her game.
‘My coach said that your attitude as a whole changes when a big event comes, and not in a productive way. I need you to change that,’ Avani said.
The change did happen, and it was seen in another high-risk qualifying event a few months later. The 18-year-old from Bengaluru earned her Ladies European Tour (LET) card for the 2025 season with a tie-16 in the Final Qualifier at the Lalla Aicha Q-School in Marrakech, Morocco, last month.
It was a significant tick on the checklist of India’s top-ranked amateur golfer of the last decade turning professional in 2024. It was also a ‘small relief’ for Avani after disappointment at the LPGA qualifiers and a below-average 2024 season after the highs of 2023.
The LPGA miss, and the words of his coach, forced the teenager to have sessions with his psychologist and adopt a new approach in Marrakech.
‘Better late than never, I got it into my head that I can’t treat tournaments like they are the end of the world,’ Avani told HT from Bengaluru.
‘I tried to get it out of my head that it was Q-School and treated it like a normal tournament. When I played the Q-School LPGA, it ended up touching me and I put too much pressure on myself. This time I was much more relaxed. I kept thinking that I just had to make my card; no matter where I finish in the top 20 (the top 20 at the end of the five-round tournament get their card). I also kept telling myself that it’s a marathon, so even if a couple of holes didn’t go my way, I didn’t stress.
That inner dialogue on the course is much more balanced now. ‘When I would make a bad shot, the first thing that would come out of my mouth was, ‘How bad can someone be in this sport?’ Then I would make a bogey and say, ‘Wow, you are an absolute champion golfer,’ Avani said. ‘All that’s gone now.’
Avani believes the past year has made her twice the golfer she was, despite her exploits in 2023. That year, the career-best 39th ranked amateur became the first Indian to win the Queen Sirikit Cup and runner-up in the LET Access Series (Ahlsell Final in Sweden). The youngest Indian golfer at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, she also finished 4th at the World Amateur Team Championship. She turned professional in October.
‘After 2023, I thought 2024 would be as good, if not better. But it didn’t turn out that way. The main thing I’ve learnt is to deal much better with failures and accept more that I can make mistakes.’
Turning pro has made her ‘much more enthusiastic’ about making golf her 9-to-5 job and has also pushed her to become ‘much more mature’ on the course.
The fact that her newfound maturity came at the age of 18 underlines how quickly Avani learns and how much room there is to build on this change of mindset. It is what makes Avani look forward to playing on the LET tour this year even more, where she will play alongside compatriots Diksha Dagar and Pranavi Urs.
‘I am extremely excited, especially for the majors and the big events. ‘It will be really fun,’ Avani said. ‘Playing a full season in LET was on my checklist. My goal is to win in LET and finish in the top 10 in the Order Of Merit. I hope to start playing on the LPGA tour from 2026.’
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