SCORESHEET
April 7th 2010, New Delhi: Shaurya Singh ousted top-seed Mukesh Kumar to produce the biggest upset on the opening day of the Aircel-PGTI’s SRF All India Professional Golf Matchplay Championship 2010. While some of the top contenders such as defending champion Ashok Kumar, Gaurav Ghei and Shamim Khan advanced to the second round, other big names such as Rahul Ganapathy, Arjun Singh and Vivek Bhandari made early exits.
Twenty-five-year-old Shaurya Singh of the Army Golf Course (Delhi Cantt.) defeated veteran Mukesh Kumar of Mhow by a 2 Up margin on Wednesday. Shaurya thus caused a major upset for the third straight year in the first round of this event. In the 2009 edition of the SRF Matchplay, Shaurya had beaten Mohd. Siddikur Rahman and the year before that he had triumphed over Harmeet Kahlon.
Shaurya won six holes and lost four in round one on Wednesday. He was one behind Mukesh till the 15th hole but then turned it around by winning the last three holes (16th, 17th, 18th).
“I hit my mid-irons close today and was very consistent. I made an important 15 feet putt for birdie to bag the 12th hole. However, a good par on the 16th proved to be very crucial as it turned the tide in my favour and gave me the impetus to force a win. The tee shot that landed within two feet on the par three 17th almost sealed it for me,” said Shaurya.
He added, “This is a huge morale-booster since I beat the top-seed and now I just hope to capitalize on this wonderful start and go a long way in this tournament. The quality of the field is very high this week and it’s important for me to be at the top of my game in order to beat anyone.”
Shaurya will play R Srinivas of Bangalore in the next round. Srinivas came through as his first round opponent Arjun Singh, the 2008 champion, conceded the match on the fifth hole.
Defending champion and second seed Ashok Kumar and fourth seed Vijay Kumar sailed into the round of 32 with identical margins of 3 & 2 (three holes ahead with two to go) against Rudresh Sharma and Abhishek Jha respectively.
Shamim Khan, the third seed, registered an emphatic 5 & 4 win on his home turf against Dayal Singh.
Gaurav Ghei, another pre-tournament favourite, prevailed in a close encounter against Gaurav Diwan. Ghei won on the 19th hole (first playoff hole).
Navtez Singh of Jamshedpur ended last year’s semi-finalist Vivek Bhandari’s campaign with a 4 & 3 margin of victory. Navtez won seven holes and lost three. He finished the match with a par on the 15th hole.
Amritinder Singh of Chandigarh caused another upset when he defeated the 2009 runner-up Rahul Ganapathy on the 20th hole (second playoff hole). This was one of the closest matches in round one.
The match between Raju Ali Mollah and Bhoop Singh was yet another nail-biting affair as the former recorded a win on the 20th hole.
In another important match, Chandigarh’s Sujjan Singh, the leader on the 2010 Rolex Rankings, beat M Dharma with a scoreline of 2 & 1.
There was a minor upset when K Prabagaran of Sri Lanka edged out compatriot and the 2009 semi-finalist Anura Rohana by a 1 Up margin.
Mandeo Singh Pathania defeated Rajiv Kumar Jatiwal 6 & 5 to register the largest margin of victory on day one.
Thirty two professionals will be involved in 16 matches in the second round on Thursday, April 8.
