BENGALURU : For a rookie on the professional golf tour, one win and three top-10 finishes is quite decent. But not for Viraj Madappa. One of two first-time winners on the Asian Tour from India this year (Khalin Joshi is the other), Madappa has had a meteoric rise following his win at the Take Solutions Masters in Bengaluru back in August. He climbed 1,101 places to be ranked 460th in the world. While the triumph earned him an Asian Tour card for 2019, the following months have been a roller-coaster ride for the 21-year-old.
In subsequent events, mostly on the Asian Tour, he missed cuts in four, while managing two top-10 finishes including one at the BNI Indonesian Masters on Sunday (T-9).“Other than the win, this year has been quite disappointing even with the two top-10 finishes. I feel I could have done a lot better. I have been making too many mental mistakes and have not been disciplined enough with my routine on the golf course. I feel that is something I need to work on,” said Madappa, currently ranked 324th in the world.
The youngster has worked on the mental aspect with a meditation guru but it’s his swing that has at times let him down. The current season being Madappa’s building year, he is yet to fully control his swing and that has cost him a few good positions on the tour.
“I have had to work on my swing. Growing up, I was used to a different swing. My arms used to get disconnected from the body while swinging and that caused a lot of variables. Now, it’s more in sequence and helps me control the face of the club a lot better. I can see that change in my game,” said Madappa, who is ranked second on the PGTI Order of Merit List.
“That transition, however, has been difficult as I was used to playing in a certain sort of way. Now, I just have to trust whatever changes I’m making and get accustomed to those changes.”With the season coming to an end, Madappa’s target is to work on aspects that let him down this year and start afresh. “It’s a work in progress. Like, the meditation has helped me to stay calm under pressure.
But I haven’t been able to hold my concentration for long periods and that has let me down at times. I will work on that in the off-season. Also, about my swing, the more I practice, the better I will get. That is another thing I need to work on and get complete control over,” Madappa said. “I haven’t really had a chance to sit down and plan for the next year as I have been busy playing. I will do that during the off-season.”