Sentosa, Singapore, August 13: Viraj Madappa was trying to lose weight by going for swimming classes, but as fate would have it, he found his true love for golf by the poolside and went on to become a champion on the Asian Tour. 

Madappa struggled with weight issues when he was seven years old, so his father took him for swimming lessons. However, instead of staying in the water, the young Indian preferred to watch golfers at a nearby golf club.

As he lost the kilos, his interest in the game kept growing. Fast forward to 2018, a lean and chiselled Madappa secured his first Asian Tour title at the TAKE Solutions Masters on Sunday. 

Madappa admits battling inner demons after earning his Tour card at Qualifying School in January, but any doubts he had were erased by his victory in front of a cheering crowd and supportive family.

The win came with a lot of sacrifices including moving from Kolkata to Bengaluru to train at the Tarun Sardesai academy. The effort paid off as Madappa is now the first Asian Tour rookie to win in 2018 and he is also the youngest Indian winner on the Asian Tour at the age of 20.

“Coming off the Qualifying School, I didn’t think I was good enough. It’s been a roller-coaster since I came through the Qualifying School. I was playing good golf then but I went through a slump after that.

“I worked really hard with my coach (Tarun Sardesai) and my whole team, just to keep me going. I am very happy that I did all the work I could to win. The efforts have definitely paid off now,” said Madappa.

He was a popular winner at the Karnataka Golf Association and the support from the crowd spurred him on in an exciting finale.

“It’s incredible really. My family has been very supportive and my mum was with me. It was great to see all the kids from the academy. They were all like between six to 15 years old. They were probably the loudest in the crowd. I was riding off their energy,” said the Indian.

With the win, Madappa moved to 40th position on the Habitat for Humanity Standings and will earn a winner’s exemption category until the end of the 2019 Asian Tour season.

Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe moved the ninth place on the Habitat for Humanity Standings after finishing tied second at the TAKE Solutions Masters. He is now in the running to qualify for the lucrative CIMB Classic in Malaysia in October.

The Asian Tour will next travel to The 34th Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea from September 13 to 16. The tournament will be played at the Bear’s Best Cheongna Golf Club with a prize purse of KR₩1.2 billion (approximately US$1.125 million).

Top-20 players on the Habitat for Humanity Standings

Pos  Player  Order of Merit  (US$)

1. Shubhankar SHARMA   (IND)          603,155

2. Matt WALLACE   (ENG)                   446,660

3. Kiradech APHIBARNRAT   (THA)     372,480

4. Gaganjeet BHULLAR   (IND)                        357,630

5. Sanghyun PARK   (KOR)                   295,660

6. Rahil GANGJEE   (IND)                    290,425

7. Sihwan KIM   (USA)                         279,623

8. Minchel CHOI   (KOR)                     271,340

9. Scott VINCENT   (ZIM)                     256,841

10. Paul PETERSON   (USA)                 241,148

11. Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA)  207,973

12. John CATLIN   (USA)                      199,617

13. Justin HARDING   (RSA)                 188,648

14. Berry HENSON   (USA)                  159,358

15. Daniel NISBET   (AUS)                   151,883

16. Prom MEESAWAT   (THA)             146,227

17. Danthai BOONMA   (THA)                        145,121

18. Khalin JOSHI   (IND)                      144,001

19. Panuphol PITTAYARAT   (THA)      140,649

20. Shaun NORRIS   (RSA)                   130,943

About Asian Tour

As the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour leads the development of golf across the region, enhancing the careers of its members while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game. The Asian Tour, through its membership of the International Federation of PGA Tours, is the only recognised pan-Asian professional golf tour in Asia. This unique feature positions the Asian Tour at the pinnacle of professional golf in Asia; providing its events with Official World Ranking status. Tour Partners include Rolex (Official Timekeeper), Panasonic (Official Consumer Electronics), Habitat for Humanity (Official Sustainable Development Partner), ECCO (Official Footwear Sponsor), Titleist and FootJoy (Official Web Partner), Bloomberg TV (Official International Media Partner), Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese (Official International Media Partner), Wall Street Journal (Official International Media Partner) and Sentosa in Singapore which is the Home of the Asian Tour which also has an office in Kuala Lumpur.