Cemetrix & Boulder Hills Tigers Share Honours at T9 Challenge

Hyderabad: Cemetrix & Boulder Hills Tigers shared the honours after both teams were tied 4-4 after two rounds of matches & a three hole playoff in an epic final of the Titan Eye+ Cemetrix T9 Challenge 2023 here at Boulder Hills Golf & Country Club. They are the first joint winners of the tournament.

In the 3rd place playoff, Jaagruthi Jaguars beat league stage toppers Ecolastic Eagles 3-1 to take home the bronze medals. Karanbir Pandher of the Tigers had a hole in one on the 11th hole.

The final was a monumental battle that ensued as two strong teams faced each and traded blows throughout the day. Defending champions Boulder Hills Tigers began on the front foot by putting the first two points up on the board courtesy the pair of Karanbir Pandher & former India spinner Venkatapathi Raju. Sridhar Reddy & Vinod Rao won 2 Up and it looked like the Tigers would take a hefty lead into the afternoon session.

However, the pair of Deepak Gullapalli & Satish Cheeti won the final three holes in their game to keep their team in it after Vasu Merugu of Cemetrix combined with Swetha Gullapalli to pip Shashidhar Reddy & KBN Raju 1 Up in a battle of the captains.

Tied 2-2, Karanbir Pandher & Venkatapathi Raju the afternoon proceeding with a brilliant 35 footer birdie on the 10th hole followed by a hole-in-one, the first of the tournament, to make a fast start for the Tigers. But as in the morning session, Cemetrix fought back with Somnath Dey & Anil Meka causing an upset to bring the final back to even stevens.

Vasu & Swetha against turned up for their side and scored a crucial point to ensure Cemetrix does not lose the final in regulation play. The Tigers had a chance to close the final game on the penultimate hole but eventually managed it on the final hole to take the final into a playoff.

After a three hole playoff, Sridhar Reddy & Shashidhar Reddy squared up against Vasu & Swetha with pars on all the holes, the final was declared a tie and both teams sharing the trophy as bad light ensured no further play could be possible.

Jaagruthi Jaguars shaked off their semi final loss by lining up with three new pairs. Ecolastic Eagles lost momentum at a crucial stage and were disappointing in their quest for a third place finish. The Jaguars came prepared to take on the challenge and saw through the game by winning 3-1.

Results : 

Final:          Boulder Hills Tigers 4-4 Cemetrix; A/S after three hole playoff
3rd place:   Jaagruthi Jaguars beat Ecolastic Eagles 3-1