Battling Sheoran earns maiden PGTI title at Chennai Pro C’ship

Chennai Pro Championship winner Dhruv Sheoran celebrates his maiden tour victory at the TNGF Cosmo Golf Course on Friday. Image courtesy PGTI.

By Rahul Banerji

Dhruv Sheoran ended a six-year victory wait with a valiant 3 under par 69 in the final round of the Rs 50 lakh Chennai Pro Championship to earn his maiden PGTI title on Friday.

Dhruv totaled 16-under 272 for the week to win by a comfortable three-stroke margin over fellow Gurgaon player Manu Gandas at the TNGF Cosmo Golf Course, the tour said.

Sheoran (69-67-67-69), previously a two-time winner on the PGTI Feeder Tour in 2018, took away a cheque of Rs 7.5 lakh that lifted him from 23^rd to 14^th in the Tata Steel PGTI Ranking.

Gandas (67-68-68-72) thus finished runner-up for the second week in succession. His 13-under 275 for the week also earned him Rs 5 lakh to consolidate second place in the Order of Merit behind Veer Ahlawat.

Bangladesh’s Badal Hossain (70-68-71-67) claimed sole third place, his best finish on the PGTI, thanks to his excellent last round of 5 under 67 and a 12 under total of 276.

Flying start

Sheoran, the overnight joint leader alongside Gandas on 13 under, began the day with a flourish as he sank a 12-footer for eagle on the first hole and landed his approach within inches for birdie on the third to open an early gap on the field.

The 2017 PGTI Qualifying School winner then had a rough ride as he pulled his tee shots into the rough and the trees for bogeys on the fifth and eighth respectively.

Sheoran then steadied his round with pars till hole 15 not letting his lead slip away at any point. He finally rose to the occasion with birdies on the 16^th and 18^th, both Par-5s, finding the green in two shots on both occasions.

Sheoran, who let out a huge roar in celebration soon after making his winning putt, said, “All these years I always felt like I had the potential to win on the tour but somehow this game plays tricks on your mind, it keeps you humble.

“I’ve been humble thinking that my day will come soon. So, I feel really blessed that it finally did happen for me today.

Big challenge

“By nature, I’m a very emotional person so it was always a challenging task for me to stay in the present tense and even small setbacks on the course used to affect me.

“But over a period of time through meditation, breathing exercises and mental training I’ve been able to make a huge improvement on that front.

“For instance, in the past I came very close to winning in Jaipur once, but couldn’t control my nerves on that occasion. However, today I was able to put behind the disappointment of the two bogeys on the front nine and executed my plan well.

“After being eight under through two rounds, I had set myself a target of 16-under for the week and importantly I was able to achieve that.

“The terrific tee shot on the Par-3 17^th led to a par. That’s when I knew that I had the title in the bag.”

Gandas, the co-leader on the first three days, had to settle for second place after delivering a round that featured three birdies, a bogey and a double.

Hossain posed a major threat to Sheoran when he drained six birdies on the first 13 holes. However, three dropped shots on the 14^th and 15^th holes ended his chances and he couldn’t pose a challenge for the title despite his birdies on the next two holes.

Delhi’s Sachin Baisoya too shot a fourth round of 67 to clinch fourth place on 11 under 277.

Chennai-based professional S Prasanth finished tied 49^th at 7 over 295.

Also read: Sheoran emerges joint leader with Gandas on day 3 in Chennai