Golf
Hyderabad’s teen wonder Saatvic wins three-way playoff as he edges Shashank & Nilofer
Promising Saatvic Kumar Singh led from start to finish in a down-to-the-wire race to secure a splendid double at the IGU Western India Junior Boys Golf Championship at the Oxford Golf Resort in Pune on Friday.
The 14-year-old from Hyderabad shot a one-under 71 on the final day to finish tied for the lead with fast-finishing Shashank Sachin Gadre (69) and Nilofer Sivamoorthy (70) at eight-under 280.
Saatvic stays one ahead of the pack as seven players in the hunt for Pune title
In the resulting playoff on the 18th hole, Saatvic found the middle of the fairway with his three-wood tee shot, and a pitching wedge second shot set him up for a six-foot birdie putt. He sank it after his two rivals could only manage pars, winning his maiden Category ‘A’ (15-17 years) crown and his second Category ‘B’ (13-14) title of the season.
Saatvic had a mixed day
The front-running Saatvic had a mixed bag of a day, firing in fits and starts. Fortunately, he found his rhythm at the halfway stage with a birdie on the ninth, an eagle two on the 10th – which was set up by a monster drive – and another birdie on the 11th hole to stay in contention.
He sank a 20-foot putt for birdie on the 14th to join his rivals – who had each dropped a shot on the 17th — at the top of the leaderboard. Saatvic could have sealed the title on the 18th, but he missed a 12-foot birdie putt by a whisker. However, he got it right the second time of asking in the playoff to walk away a deserving winner.
Final scores (after 72 holes): Category ‘A’ (15-17 years): 280: Saatvic Kumar Singh (68, 69, 72, 71), Shashank Sachin Gadre (71, 71, 69, 69), Nilofer Sivamoorthy (72, 70, 68, 70). Saatvic wins in a playoff; 281: Vihaan Jain (72, 69, 69, 71); 283: Jaibir Singh Kang (69, 74, 71, 69); 284: Shaurya Dagar (75, 66, 69, 74); 287: Ayan Dubey (69, 72, 71, 75).
Category ‘B’ (13-14): 280: Saatvic Kumar Singh; 288: Adit Veermachaneni (75, 73, 68, 72); 289: Aman Oswal (71, 72, 71, 75); 290: Aditya Misra (72, 73, 67, 78).