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PGTI Masters: Muniyappa reaps the rewards of ‘slowing down’
C Muniyappa will complete two decades as a professional next year, but even now he wonders why it takes an external source to tell him what needs to be done.
C Muniyappa will complete two decades as a professional next year, but even now he wonders why it takes an external source to point out what needs to be done.
Anirban Lahiri, his roommate in the days gone by, had advised him to follow the “routine”. He didn’t and suffered the consequences. The lower back injury he picked up soon after winning the Indian Open in 2009 keeps coming back, and means practice has been cut down in order to keep the body rested.
Leading at 12-under 204 after the penultimate day of the PGTI Masters on Thursday, Muniyappa shared another instance of someone helping him set an objective. Idling at his Bengaluru home during the off-season in June, the 39-year-old decided to search the Internet for inspirational videos.
He got a bunch of them, and though much of it can’t be recollected, two lessons stayed on. The smartly-turned out young man first exhorted his audience to think of what they wanted to do. Once a purpose had been zeroed in on, the key was to stay hungry.
The gathering in the video comprised management graduates but Muniyappa was quick to adapt it to figure out what he sought. It was to be No 1 in the country. “It’s strange realisation has dawned so late. Earlier, it was the haste to keep winning. It didn’t happen too often, which meant consistency was an issue,” said Muniyappa after the round of three-under 69 at the Classic Golf and Country Club.
He forgot in the rush that he was getting ahead of himself on the golf course and off it. Be it the “mindless practice”, as he calls it now, or playing catch up on the final day, all proved counter-productive.
Again, it took his peers to tell him that he needed to slow down. He’s complied and the routine is much gentler. A daily session of stretching on the foam roller in the morning is followed by game time four times a week. “After all these years, it’s more about muscle memory now,” he said.
It’s not been long since the schedule came into play, but Muniyappa can feel the difference. Despite sharing the lead with Ajeetesh Sandhu, there is no anxiety. “The aim is to do my bit, and the rest will fall in place,” he said.
Leaderboard
204: Ajeetesh Sandhu (65, 71, 68); C Muniyappa (68, 67, 69)
205: Ashok Kumar (68, 67, 70)
206: Manu Gandas (68, 72, 66); Vikrant Chopra (72, 64, 70)
