Indian golfer S. Chikkarangappa defended his all-India amateur golf title by defeating compatriot Shubhankar Sharma at the $120,000 TAKE Solutions India Masters at the Eagle-The Golf Village at Bengaluru.
Chikka and Shubhankar ended regulation play tied on 25-under 263 total after posting identical final rounds of six-under 66s.
The duo returned to the par-four 18th hole for the play-off battle where Chikka outplayed 19-year-old Shubhankar with a birdie against a par to claim his second Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the event.
Abhijit Chadha, also of India, returned with a stunning 62 to take third place on 269 while countryman Rashid Khan and American Greg Moss settled one shot back in the fourth place following matching rounds of 67s.
Chikka will take home a winner’s prize cheque of $21,000 and receive six world ranking points courtesy his win.
Chikka became only the fifth Indian, and fifth player to win back-to-back amateur titles in post-Independence India.
The first Indian to do so was the legendary IS Malik in 1955 and 1956. The ones to follow him were P.S. Billoo Sethi in 1961 and 1962, and then Alan Singh, now the Indian team’s coach, in 1975 and 1976.
The last one to achieve this feat was Amit Luthra in 1994 and 1995.