Sensational four-birdie finish helps Shubam Jaglan advance in US Junior Amateurs

In what would probably rank as one of the finest finishes by an Indian golfer in a match play round, Shubham Jaglan stormed into the Round of 32 of the US Junior Amateur Championship by making four birdies in his last four holes and overcoming a two-hole deficit after 14 holes.

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At the famous Bandon Dunes course in Bandon, Oregon, the 17-year-old from Israna, Haryana, beat American Edan Cui 1-up. He will next meet China’s Wenyi Ding, one of the highest ranked players in the field at No20 in WAGR (World Amateur Golf Ranking).

The victory just goes on to show the mental make-up of Jaglan, son of a milkman who picked up the unlikeliest of sports growing up in his village, and then became the No1 in every age category of the Indian Golf Union. Mentored by The Golf Foundation, he has now received a full golf scholarship from University of South Florida (USF) and is a Freshman for the Bulls.

After he disappointingly lost his golf ball with a wayward tee shot on the 14th hole, the math was simple for the finance student – he needed to win at least three holes and halve one.

With his back against the wall, the WAGR No. 552 Jaglan made a terrific 15-feet putt for birdie on the 15th hole, and then drained a difficult 10-footer on the 16th for another gain. That evened the match going into the 17th.

“It was just that the whole round was just a grind. We finished and I told him he didn’t make a mistake out there the whole round. It was just really tough,” said Jaglan.

“I didn’t really make a lot of putts the starting few holes. I made a mistake on the 14th, lost ball there, and just started again. That's the cool thing about match play; every hole is new.”

Adrenaline rushing and momentum on his side, Jaglan hit his second shot to five feet on the par-4 17th for his third straight birdie and going up in the match for the first time.

The 18th is a par-5, and Jaglan was left with a tricky two-footer for birdie. However, Cui made things difficult for him by making his much longer birdie putt, and then asking the Indian to finish the hole. Luckily, the ball disappeared inside the cup to give Jaglan a 1-up win.

Talking about his two-feet putt on the 18th, Jaglan added: “He stuck it close and when I got to my putt, it was uphill and then down and it was downgrain with a lot of slope. I didn't really feel relieved until I holed that putt.

“It was a two-footer and he did make me putt it, which is fair. I did feel nervous over it, so he was right in making me finish the hole.”

On the upcoming battle against Ding, Jaglan said he was solely focused on finishing the movie he was watching – Ryan Gosling's ‘The Gray Man’ – and not thinking about his Round of 32 match.

“It’s just another round of golf really. Take it one step at a time. First finish the movie I left halfway through last night,” he added.

Jaglan was tied 11th in the two rounds of strokeplay to qualify for the match play part. The best finish by an Indian at the US Junior Amateur Championship is by Dubai-based Rayhan Thomas in 2017, when he eventually lost in the semi-finals.

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