City golfer Yuvraj Sandhu wins Open Masters title

Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Sandhu bounced back in style after two successive playoff losses as he cantered to a thumping seven-stroke triumph for his third victory at the Open Masters, played at Digboi in Assam.

Sandhu (65-69-66-69), who enjoyed an impressive six-stroke lead after round three, shot a determined 3-under 69 in round four to total 19-under 269. The 28-year-old golfer from Chandigarh, as a result, clinched his fifth win of the season and further built on his lead in the PGTI Order of Merit. Jamal Hossain (68-73-70-65) of Bangladesh, last year’s winner, fired the final day’s lowest score of 65 to jump six spots from his overnight tied eighth to second position at a total of 12-under 276.

Deven Bhumij of Digboi, the only local professional to make the cut, ended the week in 54th place at 10-over 298.

Sandhu, the leader from Day 1 till the end, equalled his previous best of five wins in a PGTI season, a feat he achieved in 2022. Sandhu had an early stutter on Friday when he bogeyed the second. However, he came back strong with birdies on the third and fifth and an eagle conversion from eight feet on the seventh to build an imposing eight-shot lead. His bogeys on the 12th and 17th were negated by his birdies on the 15th and 16th as he sailed to a comfortable win at the end.

Sandhu, who also holds the record for the lowest winning total of 23-under 265 in Digboi, said, “It was a pretty relaxed day as I enjoyed a big lead at the start of the round. I was trying to get to my goal of greens in regulation. But after the eagle on the seventh, I was once again in my zone and was looking to break my record of the lowest winning total in Digboi. The playoff losses in the last two matches were disappointing but I took it as a learning curve and my team did a good job in getting me to put my head down and keep doing what I was doing well. My team’s belief in me and all the work I’ve put into the mental side of my game helped me overcome the last two playoff losses and get back to winning ways this week,” added Sandhu, who registered his 14th professional win on Friday.