Bangalore: Trishul Chinnappa survived some tense moments before scripting a wire to wire victory in the Tata Steel Southern India Amateur that culminated at the par-72 Karnataka Golf Association Course here on Friday. Leading by four shots in the final round, Trishul gave seemed to give away the advantage as he shot a four-over 76. Delhi lad Ankur Chadha, starting nine behind the leader, caught up with the Bangalore lad by the 16th and after a brilliant shot from the trouble on the final hole, Ankur three-putted for a bogey which avoided a play-off situation.
The 19-year-old Trishul finished with tournament with an aggregate of 4-under 284 to wear the crown and grab his maiden title on the Tata Steel IGU Indian Amateur Golf Tour while Ankur had to settle for the second place, with just a shot behind. Another Bangalore youngster Udayan Mane who trailed the leader by four, was way off his form and shot a 5-over 77 to end up third. Ainesh Ahluwalia finished fourth at 290 while Jaibir Singh and Manu Gandas shared the fifth place at 292. Aman Raj was seventh at 293 while Vikram Rana was eighth at 294.
Trishul did begin with a flourish when he birdied the second. However two bogeys in the next three holes gave a ray of hope to Ankur who made two birdies on the same holes (3rd and 5th). A chip-in from the green-side bunker for a birdie on the ninth reposed the confidence of young Trishul. While Trishul found the going tough, especially with his hitting, Ankur made three birdies in the first four holes of his back nine against Trishul’s consecutive bogeys on the 11th and 12th. Meanwhile, Udayan Mane gave up the chase after being 2-over for his front nine.
Ankur, playing ahead of Trishul was safely on the green in two on the finishing hole after both were tied at 4-under. Missing his long birdie putt, Ankur missed a three-footer for par from the left, admittedly due to the pressure. Trishul who hit his tee shot on the right on the 18th, hit a brilliant second on to the green and two putted for a par.
“I am thrilled to win my maiden title. I am elated that I achieved the feat in front of my home crowd,” said Trishul after his victory which was celebrated by splash of water and soda by his friends on the finishing hole. “I had not envisaged a threat from Ankur. I thought Udayan would go all out and was considering a late charge from him,” said the winner. “I felt my game was shattering a bit but the chip-in birdie on the ninth gave me the confidence,” he added.
Top scores after 72 holes
284 Trishul Chinnappa (69, 72, 67, 76); 285 Ankur Chadha (72, 76, 69, 68); 289 Udayan Mane (71, 71, 70, 77); 290 Ainesh Ahluwalia (72, 75, 69, 74); 292 Jaibir Singh (74, 77, 67, 74), Manu Gandas (74, 72, 73, 73); 293 Aman Raj (71, 72, 74, 76); 294 Vikram Rana (72, 75, 70, 77); 295 Samarth Dwivedi (72, 78, 74, 71); 296 Pratap Atwal (75, 71, 75, 75); 297 Hemendra Chaudhary (73, 75, 70, 79), Nikhil S Sekhawat (71, 78, 71, 77); 299 Syed Saqib Ahmed (75, 72, 74, 78); 299 Piyush Sangwan (73, 78, 74, 74); 300 Advait Luthra (72, 78, 73, 77), Lokesh Lakshman (74, 74, 78, 74)
