“I was on the brink of victory twice before. So I am happy to win a tournament that I always wanted to,” said a beaming Pradyumna, after emerging victorious in the MGC Sportstar Open golf open in Chennai. By N. Sudarshan.
Pradyumna Prakash, a 23-year-old amateur golfer, who had twice come close to winning the MGC Sportstar Open golf before, was third time lucky as he won his maiden title at this year’s edition at the Guindy golf course recently.
“I was on the brink of victory twice before. So I am happy to win a tournament that I always wanted to,” said a beaming Pradyumna, after emerging victorious with a score of 148 gross.
The tournament, which was originally scheduled for September 8 and 9, was rescheduled for September 29 and 30 after rain rendered the course unfit for play. The spell of rain made the course green and on the eve of the tournament, the course sported plenty of grass on the fairways with high roughs and low greens.
These conditions, by Pradyumna’s own admission, suited his style of play, and the good form that he has been in, in the last four months, helped him dethrone the defending champion V. Darshan who finished as the second runner-up with a score of 151 gross. Dr. Selvaraj was the first runner-up with 150 gross.
Pradyumna, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in business administration, belongs to the family of Buchi Babu Nayudu, in whose name one of the most prestigious cricket tournaments is conducted in Chennai annually. His father Ashok Prakash was a polo player and grandfather M.V. Prakash was a Ranji Trophy cricketer.
He has been competing in the amateur circuit for two years now and for him the next goal is to turn pro in a year or two. “My focus will be on making as many points on the national circuit as I can.” However, he sounded a note of caution. “Turning pro is easy. But doing it without equipping yourself to sustain the rigours of the professional circuit is not an option as the difference between the professional and amatuer circuits is huge,” he said.
Nirmal Shekar, Editor of Sportstar who gave away the prizes at the end of the competition, congratulated the winner and said that the sight of an increasing number of young amateurs taking part in the tournament was nothing short of gladdening.
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