Vihaan Jain wins maiden junior golf title in Visakhapatnam

Delhi’s Vihaan Jain clinched his first Category ‘A’ title at the IGU Andhra Pradesh Junior Boys Golf Championship in Visakhapatnam with a three-shot victory. Chaitanya Pandey dominated Category ‘B’, securing a 10-shot win, as Karnataka and Telangana golfers also impressed

Hyderabad: Delhi’s Vihaan Jain delivered when it mattered on the final day, clinching his maiden Category ‘A’ (15–17 years) title at the IGU Andhra Pradesh Junior Boys Golf Championship at the East Point Golf Club in Visakhapatnam on Friday.

Vihaan shot a closing two-under 70 for a three-shot victory over Arjun Dahiya (74), who suffered a meltdown on the back nine. The 16-year-old finished with a four-day aggregate of four-under 284. Dahiya, who stayed in the hunt until the 13th hole, finished three shots ahead of third-placed Ishnidh Virdi (74) with a total of one-under 287.

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“It feels good to finally win a junior event,” said an ecstatic Vihaan, who had been beaten at the post on multiple occasions earlier.

It turned out to be a two-horse battle at the halfway stage with Vihaan and Dahiya tied for the lead. Dahiya blinked first with a bogey on the 12th. Vihaan drained a 15-foot putt on the 13th for a two-shot lead. Another dropped shot by Dahiya on the 14th gave Vihaan a three-shot cushion with four holes to go.

It was all over bar the shouting when the lead swelled to five shots on the 17th hole. Vihaan attacked the pin with a lob wedge to set up a five-foot birdie putt, while Dahiya ended up with a bogey five.

Despite a three-putt double bogey on the closing hole, where Vihaan’s 3-wood tee shot found the right trees, he still ended up with a three-shot victory.

 

PANDEY WINS TITLE

Meanwhile, despite shooting a four-over 76 on the final day, Delhi’s Chaitanya Pandey still ended up with a massive 10-shot victory over Aditya Misra in Category ‘B’ (13–14).

Pandey finished with a four-day total of four-over 292, while Misra, who shot a 73 in the fourth round, managed a total of 14-over 302. Karnataka’s Aditya Tewari (72) was a further stroke behind in third place.

Final scores (after 72 holes):

Category ‘A’ (15–17 years): 284: Vihaan Jain (Del, 67, 74, 73, 70); 287: Arjun Dahiya (Har, 70, 70, 73, 74); 290: Ishnidh Virdi (Kar, 70, 71, 75, 74); 292: Shaurya Dagar (Har, 74, 76, 74, 68), Shashank Sachin Gadre (Mah, 72, 74, 73, 73), Chaitanya Pandey (Del, 72, 70, 74, 76); 294: Harjai Milkha Singh (72, 73, 77, 72).

Category ‘B’ (13–14): 292: Chaitanya Pandey (Del, 72, 70, 74, 76); 302: Aditya Misra (Del, 75, 78, 76, 73); 303: Aditya Tewari (Kar, 79, 77, 75, 72), Saatvic Kumar Singh (Tel, 78, 77, 75, 73); 306: Jaibir Singh Kang (77, 78, 75, 76).