Chikka wins Kashmir Masters

Chikkarangappa S of Bangalore cruised to a comfortable six-shot victory at the PGTI Kashmir Masters presented by KEO, a Rs. 50 lakh, PGTI Super Series event, played at the Royal Springs Golf Course, Srinagar. Chikkarangappa came up with his third straight score of four-under-68 in the final round to end up with a tournament total of 19-under-269 at the third Super Series event of the 2014 season. Delhi’s Rashid Khan secured runner-up position at 13-under-275 after posting a one-over-73 in round four.

Chikkarangappa (65-68-68-68), the overnight leader by one shot, consolidated his position further with three birdies and a bogey on the front-nine. He holed it from the bunker for birdie on the third and had a 30-feet birdie conversion on the ninth. The bogey on the 11th didn’t seem to affect the 20-year-old as he garnered three more birdies from 10 to 15 feet on the remaining seven holes to win with an impressive six-stroke margin.

Chikkarangappa, who won his second tournament of the year at Srinagar, now has three titles to his credit. He has won all of his three titles in the last seven months. Chikka, who took home the winning cheque of Rs. 8,08,250, has now climbed from seventh to first position in the Rolex Rankings. The young Bangalorean also moved up from 22nd to second place in the PGTI Super Series Points Table after earning 1190 points for his win on Saturday.

“It’s been an excellent week for me. I’ve done well in all aspects of the game be it hitting or putting. I started well today with a fantastic birdie from the bunker on the third. I surprised myself with that shot. The putts kept tolling in for me today. I was not very happy with my swing before coming to Kashmir. I made some changes in it with the help of my coach just 15 days prior to the Pahalgam event. I guess those changes have helped settle my game to a great extent,” said Chikka.

He added, “I dedicate my victory to the Late Mr. M Ashok Kumar, the former Chairman and Managing Director of Eagleton – The Golf Resort, who passed away last year. He was like a father figure to me and encouraged and supported me for many years. It is his birth anniversary tomorrow so this win is all the more special for me.”

Rashid Khan (68-63-71-73), who trailed the leader Chikka by one shot after round three, did not have the start he was looking for, on day four. Khan dropped three shots on the first four holes and couldn’t recover thereafter even though he added two more birdies to his card. Rashid, who set the course record in round two with a 63, has now moved up from sixth to second place in the Rolex Rankings. The Delhi golfer emerged as the leader on the PGTI Super Series Points Table after collecting 794 points for his runner-up finish at Srinagar. He now has a total of 1436.5 Super Series Points.

Kolkata’s Rahil Gangjee came in third at 12-under-276. He shot a 69 on the final day.

Sri Lankan N Thangaraja was a further shot behind in fourth position. Thangaraja’s six-under-66 was the best round of the final day.

Jyoti Randhawa of the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon, ended the tournament in tied 13th place at seven-under-281.

SSP Chowrasia of Kolkata claimed tied 22nd place at two-under-286.