Double delight for Chikka

Bangalore’s S Chikkarangappa made a double delight by capping a memorable 2015 with a victory at the season-ending McLeod Russel Tour golf Championship that also sealed his maiden Rolex Player of the Year title for the PGTI order of merit on Sunday.

Having slipped to third place at nine-under 207 after his 70 in the penultimate round, the Bengaluru lad who has trained with Asian Tour winner Anirban Lahiri, shot a tenacious final round of three-under 69 en route to his one-shot win with a 12-under 276 and a prize purse of Rs 2,250,000.

Gurgaon-based Indian golfing great Jyoti Randhawa and Khalin Joshi, another Bangalorean, were joint runners-up at 11-under 277 at the Rs. 1.5 crore event that concluded at the Royal Calcutta Golf Course on Sunday.

Chikka’s brilliant win at RCGC took his season’s earnings to an outstanding Rs 48,87,440 as he climbed from second place to top the Order of Merit and take home the Rolex Player of the Year title.

Meanwhile, poster boy of Indian golf, Anirban Lahiri and cricketing great Rahul Dravid are like ‘pillars’ behind the success of Bengaluru lad S Chikkarangappa who on Sunday clinched his maiden Rolex Player of the Year title for the PGTI order of merit.