Record breaking Mane finishes on top, Karandeep tied sixth

Chandigarh, December 29

Udayan Mane produced a flawless 7-under 65 on the final day to claim a thrilling one-shot win at the season-ending TATA Steel Tour Championship in Jamshedpur today.

Mane’s (67-66-64-65) determined final round effort of 7-under 65 helped him establish a new PGTI record for the lowest tournament total as he closed the week with a jaw-dropping 26-under 262 at the Golmuri Golf Course.

It was the Mane’s eighth professional title and his second win on the PGTI this season. The winning cheque worth Rs 22,50,000 catapulted the Pune-based golfer from ninth to third on the final PGTI Order of Merit for 2019.

Kolkata-based SSP Chawrasia (63-67-65-68), who was leading by two shots till the 14th hole, carded a 68 on Day 4 and thus had to settle for second place with another outstanding total of 25-under 263.

Patna’s Aman Raj (71), the third-round leader, ended the week in tied third place at 23-under 265 along with Delhi’s Chiragh Kumar (67).

Sri Lankan N Thangaraja (66-63-66-71) finished fifth with a total of 22-under 266, while Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar shared the sixth place with Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow at 21-under 267.

Abhijit Singh Chadha, also from Chandigarh, jumped a place to finish eighth at the season-ending tournament. He returned a card of 20-under 268. Budding golfers Kshitij Naveed Kaul (69-68-65-67) of Delhi and Chandigarh’s Aadil Bedi (67-67-64-71) completed the top-10 with an identical card of 19-under 269.

Flawless

Mane, lying overnight fourth and three off the lead, made early gains today when he sank birdie-eagle on the 3rd and 4rth to raise his title hopes.

The 6-foot-4-inch tall burly golfer drove the green on the par-4 4th before knocking in a 24 feet putt.

Mane made further inroads with birdies on the 7th and 11th, thanks to his accurate iron-play. He had a quiet period over the next five holes before making the all-important birdie conversion from 10 feet on the 17th that helped him draw level for the lead with Chawrasia.

Mane, playing in the penultimate group, finally surged ahead with a chip-putt birdie on the 18th for an error-free 65 to set the mark at 26-under.

Four-time European Tour winner Chawrasia, playing in the leader group, needed a 12-feet birdie conversion on the last hole to take the match into a playoff. But he missed and Mane clinched the trophy with a record total that eclipsed the previous best PGTI tournament total of 24-under fired by Anirban Lahiri (Aamby Valley, 2010), Shubhankar Sharma (Eagleton, 2016) and Rashid Khan (Chittagong, 2019).

“I’m pretty pleased with the entire season having registered two wins. I started the year well but then had a rocky road from March to September. But that lean phase helped me learn a lot about myself and my golf swing and that in turn led to my better performances late in the year at Kensville (PGTI) and in Mauritius (Asian Tour),” said an ecstatic Mane.

“The biggest take-away from this victory is that I won a tournament which had an elite field and at a time when so many players were playing their best golf. That is a big morale-booster,” he added.

Indian star Gaganjeet Bhullar was placed tied 31st at 11-under 277. The two other Indian legends in the field, Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa, finished tied 39th with matching totals of 10-under 278. — TNS/PTI

Rashid Khan leads Order of Merit

Rashid Khan of Delhi bagged a record third TATA Steel PGTI Order of Merit title after finishing tied 18th at 14-under 274 in Jamshedpur on Sunday. Rashid, who had earlier won the title in 2013 and 2016, closed the 2019 season with earnings of Rs66,27,650, the highest ever for a PGTI season, to finish No. 1 on the money list by a fair distance. He won two titles during the season and had 10 top-10s and thus became the first man to be crowned PGTI No. 1 for the third time. Bengaluru’s Chikkarangappa finished second with season’s earnings of Rs50,27,778. Chikka too secured tied 18th place in Jamshedpur.

Kshitij, Aadil impress

Nineteen-year-old Kshitij Naveed Kaul won the PGTI Emerging Player of the Year title with season’s earnings of Rs 29,65,420, the highest among the rookies. Kshitij, who claimed tied ninth place at 19-under 269 at the season finale, ended a creditable sixth on the PGTI Order of Merit courtesy a win and eight top-10s in the year. Chandigarh’s Aadil Bedi, who also took a share of ninth place in Jamshedpur, finished second in the Emerging Player list with season’s earnings of Rs 21,84,500. He was 10th on the PGTI’s money list.

3 Chandigarh golfers — Karandeep Kochhar, Abhijit Singh Chadha, Aadil Bedi — finish in top-10 at Jamshedpur