First golfer in its 119-year history to win both strokeplay segment and matchplay title

Mysuru lad Aryan Roopa Anand, who is in full form, has won the prestigious 119th All-India Amateur Matchplay Golf Championship title at the Eagleton Golf Resort in Bengaluru yesterday.

Aryan, who will turn 18 next week, edged out Rajasthan’s Prakhar Asawa in a thriller. Aryan won the 36-hole finale 1-up.

Despite suffering some mid-match blues, Aryan came good when it mattered the most in the game to defeat Prakhar Asawa.

Earlier, Aryan Roopa Anand had also clinched the stroke-play title with a two-day aggregate score of aggregate score of 135 (67+68).

Seventeen-year-old Aryan, who had a breakthrough win on the amateur circuit last month, created history en route to the All-India crown. He became the first golfer in its 119-year history to win both the strokeplay segment and the matchplay title.

“It feels great to win the prestigious crown, it’s yet to sink in,” said an elated Aryan. “And to become the first golfer to win both the strokeplay and matchplay is an icing on the cake.”

Aryan was off the blocks in fine fashion, going 3-up after the first three holes, the second with a fine birdie. However, two bogeys on the fifth and sixth allowed Asawa to get back into the contest. Following a birdie on the seventh hole, Aryan took the turn with a 2-0 cushion.

That dwindled to 1-up after the first 18 holes as he bogeyed the 11th hole. Another bogey on 20th hole saw the two all-square. With the match poised on a knife’s edge, Asawa pulled away with birdies on the 22nd and 24th holes to take a 2-up lead and put pressure on Aryan.

Aryan didn’t let the pressure get to him and responded in brilliant fashion by winning four straight holes, including three straight birdies on the 25th (18-footer), 26th (12-footer) and 27th holes. He won the 28th on a par to go 2-up. Aryan bogeyed the 29th (the 11th hole) for the second time in the day, but was unlucky to miss three straight birdies. Asawa, whose heart skipped a few beats on that stretch, then came up with a clutch 12-foot birdie putt on the 16th to make it all-square.

Aryan, however, sealed it by nailing the pin with a brilliant 8-iorn tee shot on the 35th hole. He duly sank the three-footer to go ahead 1-up. Aryan, in the middle of a brilliant run, then halved the final hole to lay his hands on the coveted trophy.

Aryan is the son of Roopa and Anand, residents of Dattagalli in Mysuru.