Harendra Gupta reigns over Golconda

Report by Anand Datla

March 01, 2015: The historical setting of the Golconda Fort played the perfect backdrop for Harendra Gupta, who ambushed the leader to run away with the weighty honours on offer at the inaugural Golconda Masters. The golfer from Gorakhpur, a man of humble antecedents left spectators in thrall with a thrilling final round performance to march ahead of Shamim Khan. The overnight leader failed to respond even as he came under attack midway through the front nine, eventually succumbing on the first playoff hole.

Shamim came under pressure soon as Harendra went on a scoring spree starting with the 5th hole. The latter made three birdies in a row to announce his intentions of declaring all out war on his opponent, playing in the same group. The battle intensified at the ninth hole, where Harendra drew level with the leader right on the turn.

The 30 year old made an eagle at the par-5 ninth to bring himself to level terms and set the stage for a thrilling finish to the tournament. Both players made birdie at the eleventh to push the score up to 17-under. Just when it appeared that the two might take it to the wire, Shamim slipped, conceding bogeys at the 13th, 15th and 16th holes. After enjoying a four shot lead over Harendra, he was now the hunted as he trailed by three.

But golf ain’t done till the 18th hole and Harendra infused fresh life into the contest by sailing out of bounds on the 17th hole. “The wind picked up just as took the tee shot,” he explained to Golfing Indian. “The second shot was better, but then I conceded a double bogey there which opened up the door again for Shamim.”

With only the final hole left to play, Shamim pitched to the edge of the green and made the ensuing putt to push the contest into a play-off at 15-under for both players. The duo landed in the same bunker on the playoff hole, but Harendra had the better lie and Shamim was forced to just picth out, opening up the door to glory for his resilient opponent.

“I’ve won a tournament after a long time so this win will do wonders for my confidence for the rest of the season. I feel the momentum shift today came on the stretch between the fifth and the ninth where I picked up five strokes to draw level with Shamim. The seventh has been lucky for me as I birdied it on day three as well. I lost concentration on the 17th where I found the OB. However, I was pretty confident on the playoff as my playoff record has been pretty good,” said Harendra.

He added, “It’s great to win the inaugural edition of the Golconda Masters and the first tournament at the magnificent HGC. The course conditions have been perfect this week and the Hyderabad Golf Club is a venue I’d love to come back to.”

In the end, it was a deserving victory for Harendra, who hasn’t tasted victory since the CG Open in 2012. It was the fourth PGTI title for the man who has made the Chandigarh Golf Club his professional home. It was bitterly disappointing for Shamim after wasting a comfortable lead with a flat performance in the final round.