By Rahul Banerji
Having led all the way, Aman Raj finished with a one-over 73 to bag top honours at the Rs 1 crore Gujarat Open at Kalhaar Blues & Greens in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Raj (66-68-70-73) ended with a tournament total of 11-under 277, one shot ahead of hard-charging rookie Aryan Roopa Anand (71-69-69-69), the PGTI said.
It was the second win on the PGTI for the 27-year-old from Patna and took him from 11th to second place on the rankings with a prize purse of Rs. 15 lakh.
Bangalore-based Anand, 2023 Q-School winner and playing only his second event as a professional, finished on a creditable 10-under 278.
The result took him from 23rd to sixth on the PGTI’s merit list.
Local lad Anshul Patel (66-71-67-76), playing at his home course, ended in a tie for third on eight-under 280 along with Faridabad’s Abhinav Lohan (70-72-70-68).
Raj, overnight joint leader with Patel, had a poor start with bogeys on the first two holes where he missed up and downs.
Aman, who last won in 2018, did not find too many birdies but did not drop a shot either as he made some good par saves with a number of two-putts.
His only birdie came on the 12th.
Determined approach
Aman, who was hit by a bout of food poisoning on Saturday morning, crossed the line thanks to a patient display on the greens.
“I wasn’t feeling too well this morning as I had food poisoning last evening, Raj said later.
“But I was still swinging it well. I missed a number of birdie opportunities not hitting it close to the pins but I made a lot of good two-putts and hung in there.
“I was expecting three to four birdies today but then I just told myself to keep the lead till the end and not make any errors.
“My experience told me to just keep it on the fairway and green and give myself chances. I kept believing in myself. It was a relief to get the job done finally.”
Anand, overnight third five shots off the lead, had six birdies and three bogeys on Saturday to follow his 10th-place finish in Kolkata with another top result.
The 21-year-old made three long conversions on the day.
Aryan said, “I’m very pleased with the good start to my pro career, having posted top-10s in my first two events and being in contention today.
“Happy to have given Aman and Anshul a run for their money in the final round too.
“These good performances have helped me seal my card for next year so that’s something I don’t need to worry about now. I can now focus on raising my game further.”
Abhinav Lohan’s 68 was the round of the day and saw him rise from tied seventh to tied third.
Patel, who had pushed Aman Raj over the first three days, slipped two spots from his overnight joint lead.
Delhi’s Sachin Baisoya, who finished tied 17th on two-over 290, continues to lead the Tata Steel PGTI Rankings.
Ahmedabad’s Varun Parikh closed the week in tied 24th on six-over 294, while 15-year-old Aarav D. Shah was the top amateur in tied 48th on 13-over 301.
Also read: Local boy Patel back in joint Gujarat Open lead with Aman Raj
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