From Pariah to Legend

A book on the life of South African golfer Papwa Sewsanker Sewgolum was recently launched at the Durban Country Club but his family did not attend. His son, Rajen, said the family was not happy about parts of the book that they believe defame the family. The book, Papwa Sewgolum: From Pariah to Legend, was written by Chris Nicholson, a founder member of Aurora Cricket Club, a human rights lawyer and a Durban judge, who is also a keen golfer. Nicholson suspects that references in the book to Papwa's alleged excessive drinking, after his golfing career, and to an alleged illegitimate child have angered the family. Rajen is working with film-makers from Cape Town on a documentary of his father's life.

Papwa was the first Indian South African golfer to win an international tournament when he won the Dutch Open in 1959 on his debut. He went on to win the tournament three times. He was also the first Indian golfer to win the Natal Open when he beat Harold Henning at the Durban Country Club in 1963, and received his award outside the clubhouse, in the rain, because the clubhouse was only for whites. In 1965 he beat Gary Player in the Natal Open by one stroke.

He couldn't read or write. His grandfather was a cane cutter and his father a gardener for the Durban Municipality. He grew up near the Beachwood Country Club where he watched the players and eventually became a highly-regarded caddy. He used lost golf balls and an abandoned five-iron to practice as a youngster. An industrial chemist, Graham Wulff, the inventor of Oil of Olay, flew him in his light plane to Britain for his first tour. Papwa later lost his home in Riverside to the Group Areas Act during the forcible relocations to Chatsworth. He died in 1978, age 49, of a heart attack.