By Rahul Banerji
Abhinav Lohan finally earned his maiden title, ending a long wait with a playoff triumph over Delhi’s Wasim Khan and Sanjeev Kumar of Lucknow at the season-ending PGTI Feeder Tour 2019 at the Palms Golf Club & Resort in Lucknow on Friday.
The trio of Abhinav (29-51-51), Wasim (31-52-48) and Sanjeev (30-51-50) all finished regulation play on 15-under-131 in round three. The three then headed for the playoff where 2010 Asian Games silver medallist Lohan came up trumps with a long birdie conversion on the first extra hole.
The Lucknow boys, Sanjay Kumar and Amardeep Rawat, were joint fourth on 12-under-134 at the Rs. 8 lakh event.
Lohan, of the DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurgaon and joint leader after round two, continued as the top contender on Friday with three early birdies thanks to some quality ball-striking.
Decisive putt
He then added two more to sign off with an error-free 51 that helped him make it into the playoff. In the playoff, Lohan sank a decisive 15-footer for birdie even as Wasim and Sanjeev missed their birdie putts.
Abhinav thus continued his rich vein of form over the last three events after having finished tied 21st at the Asian Tour event at Classic and tied 11th at last week’s Jaipur Open.
Lohan, who turned professional in 2011, said, “I’m relieved to have finally won my first title. I’ve waited a long time for this. This win gives me loads of confidence as I head back on to the PGTI’s main tour.
“I’ve been striking the ball really well since the last three events. All the hard work that has gone into improving my hitting seems to be paying off. I made just three bogeys this week.
Crucial difference
“I made a few good up and downs today and almost drove the greens on the two short par-4s, the 10th and 15th. Those birdies turned out to be crucial.
“I read my winning putt, the 15-footer in the playoff, very carefully and executed it to perfection.
“I didn’t want to be back for another playoff as I had found the rough with my tee shot on the 18th both during regulation play and during the playoff. I was glad to finish it on the first playoff hole,” added Lohan, who took home a winning cheque worth Rs. 1,01,720.
Wasim Khan’s fabulous 8-under, also bogey-free, was the best of the final round. Wasim, who was fourth and three off the lead after round two, made a chip-in and some long conversions before fighting his way into the playoff with a last-hole birdie from five feet.
Sanjeev Kumar, lying third after round two, joined Abhinav and Wasim in the playoff after his flawless last round of 50 that featured an eagle and four birdies.
Rookie Sandhu is OOM champ
Chandigarh-based rookie Yuvraj Singh Sandhu emerged as the 2019 Tata Steel PGTI Feeder Tour Order of Merit champion as he recorded the highest earnings for the season which stood at Rs. 2,82,480.
Sandhu, who did not play at The Palms this week, had taken an unassailable lead in the money list after the fifth event of the season.
The 22-year-old registered two wins and had two other top-10s from his four starts in the season. He has now earned an exemption for the 2020 PGTI season.
Yuvraj said, “Winning the Feeder Tour Order of Merit is a great start to my career. The two wins on the tour this year and my good scores have given me a lot of self-belief.
“The PGTI Feeder Tour is a great test of skills and provides an ideal platform to rookies like myself to sharpen our game before we go on to play the bigger events on the PGTI.
“I’m now looking forward to winning on the PGTI main tour this season.”
Wasim Khan’s joint runner-up finish at The Palms helped him secure second place in the Feeder Tour merit list with season’s earnings of Rs. 2,05,120.
Also read: Kashif Alam takes early lead at Lucknow feeder tour event
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