Mane wins Maharashtra Open Amateur Golf Championship title

Pune, October 28, 2011: Udayan Mane’s struggle of nearly two years on the amateur circuit came to an end when he made a birdie on the finishing hole to clinch the first amateur tour title in Maharashtra Open Amateur Golf Championship at Poona Golf Club.

Mane had a consistent round of level par today for the total of 281 (76,65,69,71) but it was a shoddy display by Delhi’s Siddharth Semwal and Bangalore’s Khalin Joshi that saw them ending at the total score of 290. Semwal who was fourth with yesterday’s best score of 4-under, shot 2-over for the day while Joshi just couldn’t control his anger on each hole after shooting 5-over to bag the join runners-up title.

Apart from Delhi’s Semwal, the leader board had top 6 names from Bangalore. C. G. Somaiah who has been struggling from day one, jumped to fourth place at 292 (72,75,75,70) while S. Chikkarangappa ended on fifth position in a tie at 292 (76,69,73,74) in a tie. One shot behind was Trishul Chinnappa at 293 alongwith Delhi’s Honey Baisoya. Both Chinnappa and Baisoya finished 6thand 7th respectively. Jamshedpur’s Karan Taunk who was third on the last two days, had a disappointing finish after hitting 10-over to take 12th spot.

Mane started the day on a positive note with two pars on 1st and 2nd. After hitting right on 3rd green for a bogey, he had consistent pars until 12th where he made another bogey. He got used to the tough flag positions after five holes only but could hit the birdies only on 15th and 18th. At the end of the day, he impressed the gallery with his consistent golf.

Six-feet tall Bangalorian said, “I am overwhelmed with my first win today. I spoke with my coach Vijay Divecha last evening and again this morning and he asked me to stay calm and play one shot at a time and that’s what I did. Another important thing for me was that I was beaten by my friend Khalin Joshi last year by 5 shots in the same tournament and I wanted to beat him atleast by 10 shots. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it 10 but 9 is not that bad (smiles). I am really looking forward to next week for another good show before I go for a qualifying school this year to turn professional.”

Runners-up Semwal who gave a neck to neck competition to Joshi said, “I wish I could win my first tournament on amateur circuit. However, this second position has given me the confidence of getting closer to the win next time. It also tells me that I am capable of finishing a tournament on a good note. I am looking forward to give a great challenge next week in Bombay.”

S. Chikkarangappa who retained his number one position on the IGU’s order of merit list even after finishing fourth, said, “I have been repeating the mistakes of not hitting the regulations. Even when I had 2-under on the second day, I thought I will improve on the next two days but that just didn’t happen. I wanted a good start every day which I didn’t get. I am glad that I didn’t go beyond the top-10 position as my short game was pretty bad. Now, I really want to finish next week and go back and see my coach because I haven’t seen him for five months. I am sure I will back in my real form soon.”

Photo caption: Udayan Mane holds aloft Maharashtra Open Amateur Golf Championship Trophy in Pune on October 28, 2011.

Press Release