After three under-par rounds at the Western India Junior just the week before, a similar performance is beginning to be expected almost everytime from the Delhi boy.

The All-India title here last week might have been claimed by the ever-improving Rahul Bakshi, but Rashid can safely be branded as the discovery of the year gone by.

A delayed end to the season courtesy a postponed leg in Jaipur means his claim to the top junior crown has to wait, but the prince-in-waiting has already set his sights higher.

So once he’s done with the Jaipur event next week, preparations will start for his first ever All-India amateur championship later in the month. “It was a little disappointing to lose my All-India title, but there’s the amateurs to think about now,” he insisted, just minutes after taking in the special applause that had been reserved for him at the awards ceremony.

That applause came for his brilliant show at the Faldo Series Asia final in Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen. Rashid finished top of his under-16 category, as Bakshi won the under-18 class. But with a hard-to-believe 11-under over three rounds, Rashid’s score was also best amongst all three-categories (under-21 being the third).

It’s a sort of win that can change careers. As part of his prize, Rashid will get a scholarship to the 2008 Asian Tour qualifying school, and a spot at next season’s Volvo Masters.

But like most things, even this seems not to flutter the 16-year-old. “I haven’t thought much about all that now. I’m sure it’ll be a great experience,” he said.

Coming off a season where he won twice—at Golden Greens and the Western India in Mumbai—and finished second thrice—at the Delhi Golf Club, Eastern India and the All-India, in addition to winning the Indian Open amateur title, Rashid has reason to feel satisfied, but he doesn’t want to rest on the laurels.