Jyoti Randhawa, an Indian Tour pro who was ranked inside the top-100 in the Official World Golf Rankings as recently as 2009, is currently in jail serving a 14-day sentence for poaching in a protected India reserve.
Randhawa was arrested and detained at the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh state on Wednesday following the reserve staff monitoring his “suspicious” actions.
When forest officials, range staff and STPF (Special Tiger Protection Force) stopped Randhawa’s vehicle, they found a protected red jungle fowl that had been killed, the skin of wild boar, a .22 bore rifle, binoculars, three empty cartridges, 80 live cartridges, magazine, rangefinder, two mobile searchlight torches and Rs 36,600 cash, according to Zee News.
Golfer Jyoti Randhawa arrested on poaching charges in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich. A .22 rifle recovered from him. pic.twitter.com/SemkQI9IvN
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2018
Randhawa was hunting alongside his caddie, Mahesh Virajdar.
At 46 years old, Randhawa currently plays primarily on the Asian and European Tours. He has 16 professional victories around the world and has competed in six major championships with his best finish coming in the 2004 Open Championship.
Randhawa made 14 starts in 2018 with his best finish a T-16 at the Asian Tour’s Take Solutions Masters.
