Chandigarh lad Yuvraj emerges golf champ

Chandigarh, September 10

Chandigarh lad Yuvraj Singh Sandhu stamped his authority with a resounding seven-shot win at the Rs 40-lakh J&K Open 2022 at the Jammu Tawi Golf Course.

Other results

Bengaluru’s Khalin Joshi (70-68-70-74) secured the runner-up spot at six-under 282 after firing a 74 in round four. Gurugram’s Manu Gandas (67) bagged the third place at three-under 285.

Yuvraj (69-70-65-71), overnight leader by four shots, shot a steady one-under 71 in the last round to total 13-under 275 for the tournament and claim his fourth career win and third title this season. Yuvraj, who bagged the winner’s cheque worth Rs 6 lakh, consolidated himself in the second position on the PGTI Order of Merit.

Bengaluru’s Khalin Joshi (70-68-70-74) secured the runner-up spot at six-under 282 after firing a 74 in round four. Gurugram’s Manu Gandas (67) bagged the third place at three-under 285.

Chandimandir’s Ravi Kumar shot the day’s best score of 66 to clinch 11th place at two-over 290.

Among the prominent names, Rashid Khan was tied 21st at six-over 294, 2021 champion Honey Baisoya was tied 25th at seven-over 295 and Olympian Udayan Mane was tied 28th at eight-over 296.

Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, who had shot the tournament’s best score of 65 earlier in round three, continued his domination in round four to ease to a comfortable win at the PGTI’s first-ever event staged at the Jammu Tawi Golf Course (JTGC).

Sandhu made two birdies and bogeys each on the first nine holes, but still managed to stretch his lead to five shots as nearest rival Khalin Joshi was one-over at the turn. Yuvraj birdied both par-5s, first and eighth, on the front-nine.

On the back nine, Sandhu pushed ahead further sinking birdie putts from a range of six to nine feet on the 11th and 13th and saving a par with a great shot from 100 yards after incurring a penalty on the 12th. Yuvraj dropped a bogey on the 17th but cruised to the finish line with a mammoth seven-shot margin as other nearest contender Khalin played one-over on the back nine.

Yuvraj said: “My father gave me a surprise this morning by arriving in Jammu. Seeing him at the golf course before my round helped me relax. I then just wanted to follow the yardage book, keep it in play and find fairways and greens. I managed to do that well today”.

“The nine-feet birdie conversion on the 13th was the point when I thought I had the match in the bag. The highlight of the week for me was my good course management with my caddie Sonu contributing a lot to it. You have to be 100 per cent committed on this course and that’s what I did for most part of the week. I realised when I went to Indonesia to play on the ADT, I felt a little void because my regular caddie Sonu wasn’t there. He’s not just my caddie but like a younger brother to me. He has played a big part in my performance this week,” he said.