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Rathi lifts Maharashtra junior boys golf title in Pune
Pune boy Tanmay Negi, who looked to be in the hunt for a podium finish was left disappointed as he shot a 6 over 77 on day 4 to end the tournament with a score of 17 over 301 to end up tied in the sixth spot.
Gurgaon boy Saurav Rathi hit an impressive 5 under 66 on Day 4 of the IGU Maharashtra junior boys golf championship 2019 held at the Poona Golf Course in Yerwada on Friday afternoon to lift the category A (16 to18 years) and category B (13 to 15 years) titles with a four-day score of 3 under 281.
Starting the day three points behind the leader Aryan Roopa Anand, a phenomenal return on the front 9 saw him close the deficit before carrying his momentum on the back 9 to ensure he had his hands on the title at the end.
After his comeback win, Saurav Rati said, “I think I played some amazing golf and that gave me the confidence to play my game. It was the primary reason I managed to win the title. I like playing an attacking style and that’s what I did in order to overcome the deficit.”
The 16-year-old made a remarkable start to the day, hitting birdies on holes
1 and 3, that gave him the impetus to push himself to his very limits. He appeared to grow into his element as the day progressed.
Rathi began playing on the back 9 with two consecutive birdies on holes 10 and 11 which put him in the lead early one with seven holes to go. However, he didn’t let it get to his head and hit two more birdies on holes 14 and 16 to end the day with an impressive score 5 under 66.
“I started really hot and made a total of seven birdies on the day. Hitting a few early birdies gave wonders to my confidence which gave me the push I needed to test myself. Even though the winds began to swirl on the back 9, it didn’t affect my game plan significantly,” added Rathi.
Pune boy Tanmay Negi, who looked to be in the hunt for a podium finish was left disappointed as he shot a 6 over 77 on day 4 to end the tournament with a score of 17 over 301 to end up tied in the sixth spot.
Bogeys on the first three holes of the day are what eventually cost Negi a spot in the top three and despite a mini-resurgence on the back 9, the damage had been done and it proved to be too little too late.
Quotes
Akshat Sharma, fourth in Category B: “I aimed to come in top 4 at the start of the day where I was eighth and I’m glad I achieved my target. In fact, I missed the third place by only one shot so there’s a slight regret because of that but apart from it, I’m delighted with my performance. The course is well maintained and played really well.”
Aryan Singh, second in Category B: “In the first two rounds my putting was way off the mark and that’s why I did not end up on top. I think in the third and fourth it improved and that put me in a respectable position. My thought process was to keep playing better than I did in the previous round and because of the narrow course you have to play safer.”
