Indian American Golfer Manav Shah Wins Quito Open on PGA Tour Latinoamerica

Indian American golfer Manav Shah has won the Quito Open on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica by beating Joel Thelen and Mitchell Meissner by two strokes. The win moved the 30-year-old to No. 8 on the Totalplay Cup Points List and put him in a position to make a run at the top five with four tournaments remaining in the season, according to the PGATour website. 

According to a recap of Shah’s game at the tournament, the PGA said “Shah led after the first round with a 63 and then slipped in the second.” He was unable to complete the third on May 7 when weather forced a suspension of play, the website added. However, the following day he “came out needing to complete the final six holes of his third round, and posted 4-under 68.” When “he began his final round a couple of hours later,” the PGA website noted that Shah played even better for 66 and won by two. He pulled away from a bunched leaderboard late in the round, shooting a bogey-free 66.” 

By the time he was on the 16th hole, Shah “felt a little more comfortable” with his two-shot lead, the PGA noted. Shah told the website how he navigated the hole. “Sixteen is the hardest hole in the world to come in on,” he said. “I got a lightning putt from the top of the hill (for birdie) and then made a five-footer for par.” On the next hole he shot a two-putt birdie at the par-5 that gave him “a two-shot cushion that allowed him to par in for the title,” the website added. “I’m really proud of myself for hitting the shots I needed to hit coming down the stretch,” Shah told the PGA. 

Shah is the second Indian American to win on a PGA-sanctioned Tour. In January this year, Akshay Bhatia, won The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour at Sandals Emerald Bay. As the winner of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season-opening event, the 19-year-old from Wake Forest, North Carolina assumed the No. 1 spot on the season-long Korn Ferry Tour Points List, as he eyes his first PGA Tour card. This is Bhatia’s sixth KFT start of his career. He is the third-youngest winner in Korn Ferry Tour history, behind only Jason Day (2007 Legend Financial Group Classic) and Sungjae Im (2018 The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic).

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Shah, who is fluent in Hindi, told the PGA Tour website that he would love to play in India or Asian Tour in that part of the world.

A Bakersfield, California native, Shah graduated from UCLA in 2015, majoring in Political Science and International Relations. At UCLA, he captained the 2015 men’s golf team. He earned selections to the All-PAC 12 Team in 2013 and 2015, and was ranked #27 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings in 2012. Before UCLA, he was at the University of California, San Diego, where he played golf as well, according to his LinkedIn profile.