PGTI Players Championship: Viraj Madappa bags title at Classic

Nuh (Haryana), April 24: Viraj Madappa of Kolkata won his first event on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) after his return from a long injury layoff as he bagged the Rs 60 lakh PGTI Players Championship played at the Classic Golf & Country Club here on Thursday.

Madappa (67-73-65) shot a seven-under 65 in the third and final round, the day's best score, to move up four spots from his overnight tied fifth place and total 11-under 205 in the 54-hole event. The 27-year-old Madappa, who didn't play a professional event for over a year, won by a two-shot margin.

Bengaluru's Trishul Chinnappa (72-64-71) carded a 71 in round three to finish as runner-up at nine-under 207. Chandigarh golfer Ranjit Singh (69) and Kapurthala's Yuvraj Singh (68) took joint third place at eight-under 208.

Madappa, an international winner, lifted his third professional trophy and first since 2021, after he signed for a flawless card that featured an eagle and five birdies. Madappa began the day with birdies on the first two holes and then added another birdie on the seventh to make the turn at three under.

On the back nine, Madappa collected an eagle on the 14th and two more birdies to race ahead of the rest of the field. Madappa picked up a cheque worth Rs 9,00,000 for his effort.

Trishul Chinnappa, the overnight leader who struck a top-notch second-round score of eight-under 64 to move into a two-shot lead at a total of eight-under 136, made an eagle, a birdie, and two bogeys to submit a card of 71 on Thursday and take second place. Trishul earned a cheque of Rs 6,00,000 for his effort that lifted him from 74th to 36th place in the PGTI Order of Merit.

Lucknow's Sanjeev Kumar (69-69) was placed second at six-under 138 going into the third and final round while Chandigarh's Ranjit Singh (70-69) and Bangladesh golfer Md Siddikur Rahman (70-69), an international winner and seven-time winner on the PGTI, were a further shot back in tied third place. But on Thursday, Viraj Madapp upstaged them all.

Reader Comments

R

Rahul S.

What a comeback story! After over a year away from professional golf, Viraj comes back swinging with a flawless final round. That eagle on 14 must have been 🔥

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Priya M.

So happy for Viraj! As a Kolkata native, we've been waiting for this moment. Hope this is just the beginning of more wins to come.

A

Arjun K.

Great performance, though I wish the article had more details about his injury and recovery journey. That would have made the comeback story even more inspiring.

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Sunita R.

Trishul Chinnappa's second round 64 was incredible too! Tough luck in the final round but still a great showing. The competition in PGTI is getting better every year 👏

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Vikram P.

That prize money jump from 6L to 9L is huge! Shows how much Indian golf is growing. More tournaments like this please!

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Neha T.

The Classic Golf Course is such a challenging layout. To shoot 65 there in the final round under pressure? Absolute champion material!

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