November 21, 2013. Defending champion Viraj Madappa once again underlined his class and staked his claim to be celebrated as India’s top junior golfer by producing the only under-par card of the day with a round of 71 at the All India Junior Golf Championship which got underway at the Par-72 Oxford Golf & Country Club in Pune. Tough course conditions coupled with sunny skies provided a stern test for the top junior champions in the making.
City mate Tutul Ali was a shot behind carding an even-par 72 with Feroz Singh Garewal, Manu Gandas and Yuvraj Sandhu in hot pursuit two strokes behind the leader one-over-par 73. The All India Junior Championship which has produced world stars like Jeev Milkha Singh, Shiv Kapur, Daniel Chopra and the likes along with budding professional champions like Rashid Khan and Chikkarangappa is the most sought after title amongst the juniors of the country. It is also awards the highest Order of Merit points to the winners making it the most prestigious event of the IGU Junior calendar.
Arjun Prasad was a clear leader in Category B at three-over-par 75 followed by Kartik Sharma in second at 76 and Shreyas Chandra a further stroke behind in third position. Pratheek Nagaprasad, Karandeep Kochar, Karan Pratap Singh and Arjun Puri, who won the Western Indian Juniors Category B last week, are all tied for the fourth position at 78.
Viraj, who won the 2012 All India Junior Championship edging out Piyush Sangwan in the last edition, started the round with three pars followed by couple of solid birdies on the par-5 fourth and the 416 yards long par-4 fifth. The only blemish on his card came on the 494-yard Par-5 ninth where he made a bogey. However, with an even par back nine, he was safely home without any dents in his card.
“The course was playing tough and it was not easy to keep the ball in play. I am happy to end up in red figures,” said Viraj. “It is too early to predict as the top five is bunched rather closely. My aim would be play consistent golf over the next three rounds,” said the leader.
Top scores after 18 holes
Category A
71 Viraj Madappa; 72 Tutul Ali; 73 Feroz Singh Garewal, Manu Gandas, Yuvraj Sandhu; 74 Piyush Sangwan; 75 Pukhraj Singh Gill, Kartikey Vashist; 76 Veer Ahlawat, Jairaj Singh Sandhu, Shubham Narain
Category B
75 Arjun Prasad; 76 Kartik Sharma; 77 Shreyas Chandra; 78 Pratheek Nagaprasad, Karandeep Kochar, Karan Pratap Singh, Arjun Puri; 79 Bhav Sharma; 80 Udayjit Bhalotia; 81 Saarthak Chhibber
