NGC kids see match action; DJ swings to victory in Mexico

By Rahul Banerji

Action, fun and games amongst all the serious golf marked the ninth edition of the JTP junior tournament at the Noida Golf Course (NGC) on Friday last with competition spread across the advanced, intermediate and beginners’ categories and a large number of children taking part.

There were some good scores chalked up at the rain-refreshed NGC as well particularly in the advanced and intermediate events with at least three scores of 79 and less recorded by Arjun Gulati (76, advanced-plus boys), and Karan Chauhan (75) and Arhaan Mago (79) in the boys advanced D class.

The girls advanced D event produced a tied score with Nora Beniwal winning on count-back after she and Aaliya Bairoliya handed in cards of 84 each.

Finishing behind Arjun was Anand Sapra with a gross card of 82, while in the advanced A event, Bipin Mukhiya (82) and Tanmay Rakheja (85) were first and second,

In the NGC advanced B event, Divya Chhabra had the best score of 86 to be the overall winner, topping Arni Sharma (87) and Anant Talyan (91) in the boys section and Anindita Rauli in the girls group.

Vivaan Khanna (81) won the boys advanced C class ahead of Ishaan Sawhney (88) while Hunar Brar (89) won the girls class. Winners in the NGC intermediate group (9 holes) included Tanish Mahato (group B), Kailash Gupta (group C), Amara Bajaj (group D girls) and Surya Sivaswamy (boys), besides Aryan Seth (boys) and Sayeesha Mathur (girls) in group E.

Kiradech ends T3 in WGC-Mexico

In Mexico City, Dustin Johnson swept the field aside with some magnificent hitting to finish ahead of Irishman Rory McIlroy, but Thai star Kiradech Aphibarnrat held on to make a mark at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship on Sunday.

The burly Kiradech returned his third straight 3-under par 68 at the Club de Golf Chapultepec, good enough for a career best shared third place in a World Golf Championships event on 11-under 273 alongside Englishmen Ian Poulter and Paul Casey.

Johnson was unstoppable in rolling to a 21-under total of 263, five shots ahead of McIlroy while Tiger Woods had a final day 2-under 69 to end tied 10^th, 13 shots behind the winner who took home his sixth WGC trophy and a 20^th career PGA Tour title.

Confidence boost

“This gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the year,” Johnson said later. “It’s been a very good week. I got off to a great start, hit a lot of good shots and putted really well.”  

For Kiradech, the result was a relief after some indifferent early season form. 

“I’ve been playing really tight all days. I was even par after 15 holes, which is a top day for me. I just put a lot of pressure on myself, I wanted to do well here. The last few birdies mean a lot to me,” he said.

Kiradech started his final round from tied seventh with a three-putt bogey on the third hole but gained the shot back on five with a seven-foot birdie conversion. He parred the next 10 holes before finishing in a flourish with three closing birdies.

Patience the key

“The greens are really difficult. If you’re not careful, it can hurt. I stayed patient all day. I’m still thinking off the tee that I can make a couple birdie at the end and then, I finally got it done,” said Kiradech.

“The last three birdies are a big thing for me. It gives me a lift and shows I should just go and play my own game. It’s been a great week.”

China’s Haotong Li closed with his week’s best of 67 to share 19^th position with amongst others, Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama, who is the lone Asian to win a WGC title while SHubhankar Sharma had a final round of 4-over 75 to finish tied 60^th on 8-over 292.

Also read: US Kids Golf debut season ends with new annual events on the cards