Coimbatore: Three-time Sri Lanka amateur champion Simarjeet Singh finally met his match in Sri Lankan K. Prabagaran.

The latter kept his cool under pressure to defeat the former on the 35th hole to emerge champion of the 106th Royal Challenge all India amateur golf championship at the par-72 Coimbatore Golf Club course in Chettipalayam, near here, on Sunday.

With this win, Prabagaran became the third player from his country to win this prestigious championship.

"This is my first amateur title victory in India, and I dedicate this to my family," said an exhausted Prabagaran after the match.

Sizzling start

Prabagaran was off to a flyer shooting four birdies. In fact, that set the tone for the thriller. But, Simarjeet used all his experience to turn the tide in his favour 1-0 after the first 18.

The second session saw Prabagaran start off with a birdie on the first to level scores, and followed it up with another to go 1-up.

It was a neck-and-neck affair for the next few holes. Simarjeet birdied the 23rd to make it all-square. The 24th hole was halved but Prabagaran clinched the 25th with a par and then birdied the 26th to go 2-up.

The two golfers shared the next two holes before Prabagaran clinched the 29th with a birdie to make it 3-up.

At this stage, Simarjeet pulled one back with a birdie on the 30th. However, he failed capitalise on the winning opportunity by bogeying the 32nd to go 3-down.

Simarjeet won the 33rd with a par to reduce the margin but the next two holes were shared with pars as Prabagaran duly clinched the title with a 10-footer par putt.

Chief of Army Staff and President of the India Golf Union, General J.J. Singh, gave away the prizes.

The results:

Final: K. Prabagaran (Sri Lanka) bt Simarjeet Singh 2-up (on the 35th).

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail