Chikka wins individual honours at inter-state golf tourney

COIMBATORE: He didn't make the best of starts to the tournament but Karnataka's S Chikkarangappa turned it on when it mattered most to win the inter-state amateur golf championship at Coimbatore Golf Club on Friday.
Chikkarangappa, who was nowhere in contention after the opening two days, stormed back on Thursday with a level-par score before finishing off in style with a one-under 71 on the final day to win the title by a shot.
Overnight leader Abhijit Chadha of Chandigarh finished second with a total of 301 while Karnataka's Khalin Joshi carded a three-over on the final day to finish third with a total of 304.
Chikkarangappa and Joshi's fine show also helped Karnataka 'A' to the team title. The lads from Bangalore carded a total of 603, pipping the Chandigarh team of Chadha (74-76-74-77) and HS Kang (79-81-73-75) which finished with 609.
Chikkarangappa's (77-79-72-71) victory here from the jaws of defeat shows the character and potential of this 17-year-old, the No 1 amateur golfer in the country now.
The Bangalore lad did have his ups and downs at the tricky course here, made more difficult by the windy conditions. But consistent shots with the driver and a little pep talk from his mental conditioning coach - Vinod Kumar - helped Chikkarangappa turn around the situation.
He was miles away from his best on the opening two days but the rounds after the mid-way cut saw the best of Chikkarangappa.
The 17-year-old, who was in second place going into Friday's action, played a consistent brand of golf the entire day, making birdies on the fifth, 13th and 17th holes.
Chikkarangappa admitted that the victory was made possible because he was much more relaxed in the last two days.
"I wasn't confident on the first two days about my game and whenever I was about to tee off, I used to be double minded about my approach. In fact I was standing too close to the ball, which distorted the shot's trajectory and I very rarely hit the center of fairway. I managed to sort out my game on the third day at the driving range after taking some advices from my mental conditioning coach. I started my day very well today and when I hit a driver on left rough on the 17th hole, I was sure that the title is in my hands," he said.