Shubham Narain suffered a stunning final-round collapse while Viraj Madappa kept his cool to record an unlikely victory in the IGU Southern India Juniors Golf Championship here at the Karnataka Golf Association on Friday.
Leading by six shots overnight, Shubham reserved his worst for the last day, tumbling to a disastrous four-over 76 while Viraj carded a third successive 70 as both players signed off regulation play at 286. Viraj then birdied the first play-off hole to complete a brilliant comeback and seal victory.
After making a sedate start, Viraj dropped a shot on the par-4 sixth before turning things around on the back nine. He birdied the 11th, 12th and 16th holes to go one shot clear of Shubham only to be set back temporarily by a bogey on the closing hole.
He, however, didn’t let that fluster him, regaining his composure in quick time on the extra hole. Meanwhile, Kartik Sharma won the Category B title, totalling 294 after shooting 72.
Leading scores (after 72 holes): Category A&B: 286: Viraj Madappa (76, 70, 70, 70), Shubham Narain (72, 66, 72, 76). Viraj beat Shubham on fiorst play-off hole. 294: Kartik Sharma (69, 76, 77, 72); 296: Arjun Prasad (74, 70, 76, 76); 297: Pukhraj Singh Gill (75, 74, 76, 72).
Category B: 294: Kartik Sharma; 308: Saarthak Chhibber (78, 74, 76, 80), 310: Yuvraj Singh (76, 84, 77, 73).