Louis Phillipe Cup: Ahmedabad Bangalore to face off in final

Mumbai: Vikrant Chopra staged a grand recovery and won the deciding match against Krrish Colombo to power Navratna Ahmedabad into the final of the 3rd Louis Philippe Cup Golf championship at the par-70 Bombay Presidency Golf Club, Chembur, here today.

Chopra’s victory over Sri Lankan pro K Prabagaran, when the teams were tied 1-1, enabled Ahmedabad to ease into tomorrow’s summit clash against Puravankara Bangalore who drubbed AVT Kolkata 3-0 in the other semifinal.

Chopra pulled a rabbit out of the hat in a nail-biting clash against Prabagaran who trailed by two shots going into the final hole, and then fired a timely eagle to bridge the gap and put pressure on Chopra.

However, the 34-year-old Chopra showed nerves of steel as he replied with an apt birdie putt to clinch the issue 71-72 in favour of the Ahmedabad team and carry them to the title round.

Chopra, ranked 27 on the PGTI Tour, lacked consistency and did not have a great round. He had four bogeys on the front nine, and doubled bogeyed the 12th, but made up with five birdies, including the crucial one on the final hole.

Earlier, Navratna captain Vinod Kumar was unable to match the efforts of Himmat Rai and lost the tie to put Ahmedabad on the back foot. Rai had a score of 2-under 68 as compared to Kumara’s score of 2-over 72.

But Mithun Perera played steadily to finish with a score of 1-over 71 to win the second singles against Sri Lankan compatriot N Thangaraja who had a card of 2-over 72, and put Ahmedabad on level terms.

In the other semi-final, the Bangalore team was in total control as their rivals AVT Kolkata, including Rahil Gangjee, struggled to find their rhythm.

Gangjee, who set the course record of 8-under-62, went two over 72 and lost to M Dharma who had a card of 71.

Later, seasoned golfer Anirban Lahiri (67) showed his class and put it across Chiragh Kumar (71) to widen the lead for Bangalore before their third member S Chikkarangappa (67) overcame Shankar Das (68) to complete a clean sweep for the southern team.

Semi-final results:

Navratna Ahmedabad beat Krrish Colombo 2-1: Vinod Kumar (72) lost to Himmat Rai (68), Mithun Perera (71) beat N. Thangaraja (72), Vikrant Chopra (71) beat K. Prabagaran (72).

Puravankara Bangalore beat AVT Kolkata 3-0: M Dharma (71) BEAT Rahil Gangjee (72), Anirban Lahiri (67) beat Chiragh Kumar (71), S Chikkarangappa (67) beat Shankar Das (68).

PTI