Joshua Berry (second from left) receives his winner’s cheque from (left to right) PGTI CEO Amandeep Johl, RCGC captain Gaurav Ghosh, and HotelPlanner Tour Director Jamie Hodges in Kolkata on Sunday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
TeenagerJoshua Berry rounded off an eventful week with a playoff victory at the $300,000 Kolkata Challenge 2025, a HotelPlanner Tour and PGTI joint sanctioned event at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club on Sunday.
Berry (72-62-70-73), who set the course record of 10-under 62 in round two, returned a I over par 73 in regulation play on the last day to total 11-under 277 along with Norway’s Andreas Halvorsen (69-66-71-71), Austria’s Lukas Nemecz (67-70-68-72) and Om Prakash Chouhan (66-68-73-70).
The four headed into a playoff in which Berry finally triumphed with a dramatic 19-foot birdie conversion on the second extra hole, the PGTI said.
Halvorsen, Nemecz and Chouhan thus finished joint runners-up.
While Chouhan, who struggled with his short putts all day, bowed out after missing a three-footer for par on the first playoff hole, Halvorsen and Nemecz lost out to Berry on the second playoff hole.
Chouhan’s tied second finish earned him Rs 20,64,000 to carry him 41 places up, to third on the PGTI Order of Merit.
Berry, the overnight leader by one shot, made a slow start as he conceded two shots on the front nine.
Crucial gain
The 19-year-old then made a crucial tap-in birdie on 15 to climb into contention. Berry made par on the first playoff hole along with Halvorsen and Nemecz. The Englishman then nailed his birdie conversion on the second playoff hole to seal his maiden HotelPlanner Tour title.
“I didn’t have the best of rounds today but I guess I earned the reward for staying patient till the end and keeping my emotions together.” Berry said later.
“All parts of my game fired this week and I was particularly sharp with the mental aspect of my game.
“I’m absolutely buzzing. This win is important and it’s good for my confidence as well. I know I can do it now, which I think is the key thing.
“I did feel some nerves but that’s what you practice for. I’m looking forward to watching that putt in the play-off back.
“You’ve always got to be confident going into a play-off but obviously it’s nerve-racking. You really want to win, and I just tried to hit one good shot at a time. Luckily, I holed that putt on the second extra hole. It’s a game of such fine margins.”
Chouhan, who was tied fifth and three off the lead after round three, couldn’t get his putting rhythm going on Sunday as he missed short putts to drop two bogeys on the front nine in exchange for just one birdie.
Striking back
The 38-year-old, a former winner on the HotelPlanner Tour and at the RCGC in 2023, had a far better back nine where he had three birdies including a tap-in on 11 and a 10-foot conversion on 13 to move into contention.
Chouhan, the sole leader for a few holes on the back nine, then missed a golden opportunity for victory on 18 where his 15-foot putt for birdie lipped-out.
On the first playoff hole, Chouhan missed out on another conversion from three feet that cost him a bogey and put him out of contention.
“I once again struck the ball well, landing it within five feet for three of my birdies today,” Chouhan said.
“But the rhythm of my putting stroke continued to elude me. That resulted in a few missed short putts which turned out to be decisive.
“It was one of those days when things didn’t go as per plan. I was quite disappointed about missing out on the win after getting into contention towards the end.”
Two-time Indian Open winner Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia and Samarth Dwivedi shot 67s to make major gains on the final day.
While SSP jumped 18 places to sixth on 9 under 279, Samarth moved up 22 spots to end the week in tied seventh place on 8 under 280.
Also read: Late run gives Joshua Berry the sole lead at Kolkata Challenger
Discover more from Tee Time Tales
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.