Chandigarh, Dec 16 (IANS) Kolkata teenager Anshul Mishra added his name to a list of illustrious winners of the iconic All-India Amateur Golf Championship at the Chandigarh Golf Club. The 123rd edition of the event, one of the oldest in the world, saw the 16-year-old Mishra beat his opponent Varun Muthappa 4 & 3 in the 36-hole final. That meant he was four-up with three holes to go.
The All-India Amateurs is the biggest amateur event in the Indian Golf Union (IGU) portfolio.
Watching him win was the 2012 All-India amateur winner, Chandigarh golfer Shubhankar Sharma, who had previously won the title in 2012. Mishra, who started his golf at the Royal Calcutta Golf Course under Inderjit Bhalotia, now trains with Jesse Grewal. He plans to try and play in US College golf.
Mishra was 15th in the stroke-play format. Then he beat Jaibir Singh in the pre-quarterfinals and won against Tushar Pannu in the quarters. In the semifinals, the youngster scored a win over Anant Ahlawat of Haryana.
In the final, Mishra took on Muthappa over 36 holes. Muthappa took an early lead but Mishra caught up and went 1-up ahead after the end of the first 18 holes. Mishra continued playing steady golf for the next few holes to extend his lead to 5-up after 28 holes.
Muthappa won the 29th hole and 30th hole to recover and reduced the margin and had a chance to win the 31st with a simple birdie. Mishra, however, halved the hole and then finally won the prestigious championship on the 33rd hole 4 & 3.
–IANS
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