Lubumbashi [Democratic Republic of Congo], April 23 : Aryan Roopa Anand had been knocking on the doors of victory for so long that it was only a matter of time before it opened. It finally did at the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) Invitational Congo at the par-73 Golf de Lubumbashi course in the Congo in Africa.
The 25-year-old Mysore-born boy who dreams of being a global golfer finally crossed the line into the winner's circle, but not before some tense moments.
Pegged at 16-under after a final bogey, Aryan was tied with Udayan Mane, who was seeking back-to-back wins. After two extra holes that went equal, Aryan finally pulled ahead in the third and took the trophy, as per a press release.
Aryan, who plays for RVR Delhi, shot a stunning 8-under 65 at the Par-73 course, and it included a superb run of five birdies from the 11th on the back nine that had placed him at 16-under with three holes left. Another birdie on the 17th made it 17-under, and it seemed he was through. But the bogey on the 18th saw him finish at 16-under.
Another contender, Shaurya Binu (68) of Honer Gurugram, playing alongside Aryan, finished at 15-under. He ended third.
But moments later, the never-say-die Udayan Mane of Atri, Mumbai, not only eagled the Par-5 17th but also birdied the 18th hole to join Aryan at 16 under and force a playoff.
The play-off saw Aryan get the better of the more experienced Mane, a former Olympian and a multiple winner in India before his maiden AM Green IGPL success seven days earlier in Joburg, South Africa. It took three playoff holes to separate them, and Aryan was up to the task.
A big sigh of relief was the biggest emotion he let out after the landmark moment. "That was a big one and an awesome moment. I played superbly all week and have been doing so for some time," said Aryan, who shot 71-67-65 for 16-under for three days.
Aryan started the day two behind his playing partner, Shaurya Binu, who was 10-under for two rounds. Aryan birdied three times, and so did Binu and stayed ahead. Then came the decisive run on the back nine as Aryan birdied five times from the 11th to the 15th and added one more on the 17th. A hiccup with a bogey on the 18th kept him in the race despite Mane's eagle-birdie finish.
After the closing bogey on the final day, it took Aryan three play-off holes to get the better of a senior player, Udayan Mane, who a week earlier had etched his name on the AM Green IGPL Trophy in Joburg, South Africa.
Mannat Brar, who played the final round, which had a shotgun start, was the top woman finisher with 5-under 68 and finished at 13-under in tied fourth place alongside the pedigreed Aman Raj (66) and early leader Tushar Pannu (68).
Kartik Sharma (65) and Indian American Manav Shah (69) were tied for seventh at 8-under, while rookies Kanav Chauhan (69) and Danish Verma (70) were tied for ninth to round off the top 10.
-Early potential and hard-work pays off for Aryan
Son of a telecom specialist and a homemaker, Aryan was born in Mysore and took his early golf steps at the JWGC in Mysore. Aryan started playing the game from the age of eight after seeing his father play the sport. Early on, he also played tennis, but golf finally became his calling and started winning amateur events from the early days.
He then moved to Bangalore to take up golf more seriously and then trained in Kolar at the Tarun Sardesai Golf Academy and also represented India as part of the National amateur squad. Turning pro in 2023, he played on the Indian tour and having been marked out as a great potential, he was part of the inaugural squad of players at the IGPL which is now his home.
After traveling all over with the AM Green IGPL last year and coming close to a maiden title many times, he was T-8 in Mauritius. But now in a far-off African country, Congo, and in a lovely historic Lubumbashi, Aryan Roopa Anand finally struck big time and took a cheque of Rs. 22,50,000, for his biggest payday as a pro golfer.
-Atri Mumbai wins team contest in Congo and holds overall lead
Atri Mumbai was well-served by Udayan Mane (70-68-65), Tushar Pannu (67-71-68), and Aman Raj (69-71-66), each of whom had their cards counted on two of the three days. They finished at a whopping 32-under and 13 shots ahead of Leander Paes' team Flyingman Kolkata, who were well represented by Kartik Sharma and Syed Saqib Ahmed.
RVR Delhi once again got a final-day boost from Aryan Roopa Anand, whose scores counted on each day, and he was assisted by former Asian Tour winner Chiragh Kumar.
Overall, Atri Mumbai lead the standings with 270 points with Green Fuels Vizag in second place at 220 and RVR Delhi are in third spot with 210.
The two best cards are counted on each day of each event to decide each tournament winner and the final team champions will be decided at the end of the season.