Nuh, Haryana, 17-11-2019
Indians Shiv Kapur and Chikkarangappa finish tied second behind teenage sensation Joohyung Kim of Korea at Panasonic Open India 2019
Vikrant Chopra and Veer Ahlawat claim career-best tied fifth and tied eighth
India’s Shiv Kapur came within sniffing distance of victory on the Asian Tour for the second week in succession. Shiv (70), who lost out in a playoff at the Thailand Open last week, was again denied victory this week at the Panasonic Open India as a costly double-bogey on the last hole saw him concede a one-shot lead and end up in tied second place along with compatriot Chikkarangappa (67) at 12-under-204.
Seventeen-year-old Korean sensation Joohyung Kim became the second youngest Asian Tour winner when he fired a seven-under-65 to bag the top honours on Sunday with a total of 13-under-203 at the Classic Golf and Country Club.
Indians Vikrant Chopra (10-under-206) and Veer Ahlawat (eight-under-208) claimed career-best finishes of tied fifth and tied eighth respectively.
Joohyung Kim, who earned his Asian Tour card for the remainder of the 2019 season after claiming three wins on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) this year, continued his hot streak in India with rounds of 70, 68 and 65 at the US$400,000 event which was contested over 54 holes.
The Korean, playing his event on the Asian Tour this year, said, “I’m really speechless. It has been a dream of mine to play on the Asian Tour ever since I was young. It’s really wonderful to come here, be in contention and win. I cannot describe the feeling now. The season has been great especially coming back from my injuries and winning three times on the ADT and now this victory.”
Shiv Kapur (67-67-70), who was in a three-way lead after the penultimate round, mixed five birdies with a bogey and a double-bogey on Sunday. Kapur, the 2017 Panasonic Open India champion, was leading by one shot till he hit his tee shot out of bounds on the 18th. The Dubai-based golfer finally missed a 20-feet bogey putt that would’ve taken him into a playoff with Kim.
Chikkarangappa (69-68-67) produced his best round of the week on Sunday to secure the joint runner-up position, his best for the season. Chikka got his confidence going with the early birdie on the third where he made an 11-feet conversion. The Bengalurean then added two more birdies and a bogey till the 10th. Chikka managed to finish well with three birdies over the last five holes where he made two quality chip-putts and a 30-footer after a poor second shot on the 15th.
Chikka said, “I’ve been superb on the par-5s this week as my strategy to lay up within my favourite yardage with my approach shots worked wonders. I was 10-under on the par-5s through the tournament. My hitting and putting were very consistent but my wedge-play was my only weak link this week. I wasn’t as close to the pins with my wedges as I would’ve liked.
“As far as my driving is concerned, I’ve been working on gaining distance over the last two months by improving on my weight transfer during the swing. All that hard work is now paying off as I’ve added about 25 yards, from 285 yards to 310 yards, to my driving average.
“The season began well for me with a tied 20th at the Maybank Championship and tied 10th at the Hero Indian Open. Thereafter, I didn’t have any great result. But those good finishes at the start of the season gave me room to work on my game and make some changes which in turn have helped me.
Vikrant Chopra (67-70-69) began the day with two 15-feet birdie conversions on the third and fifth before dropping his only bogey on the seventh where he three-putted. The eight to 10 feet birdie conversions on the 15th and 18th were proof of his good putting form.
Chopra said, “It’s been a pretty solid week for me especially on the greens. This is my best ever result on the Asian Tour. My previous best was tied eighth at the Panasonic Open India 2015. I’m pleased that I played well despite the tough conditions here at Classic.
“Coming into this event I was going through one of my worst seasons on the PGTI and was outside the top-60 of the Order of Merit. I had recently missed the cut in two big events including the Asian Tour event at Classic two months back. So, I badly needed a good finish this week. This top-5 now gives me a huge boost in the PGTI money list and raises my confidence.”
Veer Ahlawat (69-69-70) too improved on his previous best Asian Tour result which was tied 13th at the Classic Golf & Country Club International Championship held at the same venue two months back. Ahlawat attributed his good show to his sharp short-game.
The other Indians in the top-20 were Arjun Prasad and M Dharma (both tied 11th at seven-under-209) as well as Om Prakash Chouhan, Karandeep Kochhar, Khalin Joshi and Rashid Khan (all in tied 14th at six-under-210.
About PGTI:
Formed in 2006, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is the recognised official body of professional golf in India. PGTI's objective is to promote professional golf in the country, as well as to give players an opportunity to be involved in the decision making on all aspects of the game. Headed by Mr. Kapil Dev (President), PGTI's governing body comprises leading Indian golf professionals. PGTI currently has over 300 members.
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