Twenty-year-old Shaurya Binu saw it home with a gallant final round performance of five-under 65 in a closely-fought affair at the Mysuru Open hosted by Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club.
Related: Amateur Veer Ganapathy 18 holes away from career’s biggest win
Shaurya (64-64-64-65) totaled 23-under 257 to prevail by one shot over Aman Raj (62-67-66-63) who carded a brilliant 63 in the last round.
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Shaurya, who bagged the winning cheque worth INR 15 lakh, thus lifted his second trophy of the season to climb up three spots to fifth place in the TATA Steel PGTI Ranking.
Bengaluru-based 17-year-old amateur Veer Ganapathy (63-68-61-67) finished a creditable third at 21-under 259 in his very first appearance in a professional event. Veer returned a solid 67 in round four.
Shaurya, the overnight joint leader along with Veer, made a steady start to round four as he made pars on the first six holes. He then got his round going after driving the par-4 seventh green to pick up his first birdie of the day. Another great drive on the par-5 ninth led to a second birdie for Binu.
In spite of his bogey on the 12th, Shaurya kept himself in the hunt with birdies on the 11th, 13th and 14th where he hit it close on two occasions and also sank a 30-footer. Needing a birdie on the par-5 18th to surpass Aman Raj’s total, Binu kept his nerve by landing his approach on the left side of the green before making an up and down for victory. He nailed a five-footer on the last hole.
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Shaurya said, “There were some nerves for me at the end and it was quite different from my first win earlier this year. On the 18th tee I knew that I had to make a birdie to win. I then executed my plan to perfection on the last hole. I hit a great 3-wood off the tee and followed it with a solid chip and putt.
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“A win at the start of the second half gives me great confidence and keeps me on track to end the year in the top-3 of the Order of Merit. All the work I did in the off-season on my swing and my body is paying off as it has helped me gain some distance with my shots.”
Aman Raj shot a bogey-free 63 on Sunday to rise one spot and finish as runner-up at 22-under 258.
