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Pablo Larrazabal of Spain edged out Shiv Kapur of India in a unique Hero Shot competition as the 2025 Indian Open got off in an exciting manner. Eight players battled it out in a special competition which was a test of skills and distance control.
Apart from the winner Larrazabal and runner-up Kapur, the other competitors were Pawan Munjal, Executive Chairman Hero MotoCorp; defending champion Keita Nakajima; 2024 HIO runner-up Veer Ahlawat; the 2023 Indian Open winner, Marcel Siem; Daniel Hillier and Rafa Cabrera-Bello. The final in which Larrazabal and Kapur made the grade, required the players to display a combination of three Skills where players were awarded for distance control. Players were to inform the distance they would hit with the Driver, a 5-iron and the Pitching Wedge. Each player got three shots with each club. The player winning two Skills out of three would go on to win the Final, as Larrazabal edged out Kapur to emerge victor. The competition began with eight players in the Shootout competing in a knockout format, which meant a Round of Eight, semi-final and the final. The Round of Eight was a Straight-Drive contest, with all players getting four shots each. The top four players hitting closest to the centre line progressed to the Semi-Finals. After the first round, Larrazabal, Kapur, Pawan Munjal, and Veer Ahlawat progressed to the semi-finals. The semi-final was a Closest to Pin contest from 125 yards. All players got six shots each with the top two progressing to the final. The two players eliminated at this stage were Pawan Munjal and Ahlawat. The total prize money was USD 10,000, with the winner picking up USD 4,000 and the runner-up USD 2,000. On Wednesday, the top players will be engaged in the Pro-Am, and the main event will start on Thursday, with 138 players vying for a purse of USD 2.25 million. (ANI)
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