August 14, 2016: It has been a fairytale journey for SSP Chawrasia from the backrooms at Royal Calcutta Golf Club to the Olympic village in Rio. Perhaps the weight of the hard work and the intensity of the journey hit him today on the home stretch, forcing him into the worst round of the week. Chawrasia dropped 28 spots to end the Olympics tied in 50th place with a final round 78.
Chawrasia started with a fine birdie at the second hole as he sought to build on a good effort in the third round. But things unraveled at the par-4 third hole, where the 38 year old golfer made a painful triple bogey.
It was recovery mode from there as Chawrasia sought to steady the boat with three straight pars. But he conceded another shot at the par-4 seventh hole, before setting it off with his second birdie of the day at the eighth hole.
He made the turn in 37 shots, slipping back to even overall. Chawrasia would have been happy to have finished the week right there, as a nightmarish run awaited him on the back nine.
Chawrasia conceded five shots over a four-hole stretch from the 11th – including three bogeys and a double at the par-4 13th hole.
Though he ended the week with four consecutive pars, the damage was long done for the gritty golfer from Kolkata.
He signed on a 78 that saw him drop from 2-under overnight to 5-over, dropping him well down the leaderboard.
Overall though, Chawrasia can return home feeling proud about his accomplishment in reaching the Olympics in Rio.
He played well too for the most part – scores of 71-71-69-78, compromised largely by that disappointing return on Sunday. Earlier in the day, Anirban Lahiri ended in 57th place after posting 72 in the final round.
But he will be wiser for the experience in Rio and given his discipline and hard work, there is no denying the reigning Indian Open champion another chance in four years’ time. If he does make the cut for Tokyo 2020, Chawrasia can be expected to produce a far more assured performance than the one in Rio.
