Professional Golf Tour of India Players Championship: Viraj Madappa wins by two-shot margin

Viraj Madappa of Kolkata upstaged in the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and bagged the Rs 60 lakh PGTI Players Championship played at the Classic Golf & Country Club

Nuh (Haryana): Viraj Madappa of Kolkata won his first event on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) after his return from a long injury layoff as he bagged the Rs 60 lakh PGTI Players Championship played at the Classic Golf & Country Club here on Thursday.

Madappa (67-73-65) shot a seven-under 65 in the third and final round, the day’s best score, to move up four spots from his overnight tied fifth place and total 11-under 205 in the 54-hole event. The 27-year-old Madappa, who didn’t play a professional event for over a year, won by a two-shot margin.

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Bengaluru’s Trishul Chinnappa (72-64-71) carded a 71 in round three to finish as runner-up at nine-under 207. Chandigarh golfer Ranjit Singh (69) and Kapurthala’s Yuvraj Singh (68) took joint third place at eight-under 208.

Madappa, an international winner, lifted his third professional trophy and first since 2021, after he signed for a flawless card that featured an eagle and five birdies. Madappa began the day with birdies on the first two holes and then added another birdie on the seventh to make the turn at three under.

On the back nine, Madappa collected an eagle on the 14th and two more birdies to race ahead of the rest of the field. Madappa picked up a cheque worth Rs 9,00,000 for his effort.

Trishul Chinnappa, the overnight leader who struck a top-notch second-round score of eight-under 64 to move into a two-shot lead at a total of eight-under 136, made an eagle, a birdie, and two bogeys to submit a card of 71 on Thursday and take second place.

Trishul earned a cheque of Rs 6,00,000 for his effort that lifted him from 74th to 36th place in the PGTI Order of Merit.

Lucknow’s Sanjeev Kumar (69-69) was placed second at six-under 138 going into the third and final round while Chandigarh’s Ranjit Singh (70-69) and Bangladesh golfer Md Siddikur Rahman (70-69), an international winner and seven-time winner on the PGTI, were a further shot back in tied third place. But on Thursday, Viraj Madappa upstaged them all.