Abhinav Lohan makes PGTI breakthrough at Bengaluru Open

By Rahul Banerji

Asian Games silver team silver medallist Abhinav Lohan earned his breakthrough win on the Tata Steel PGTI by a one-shot margin in the Bengaluru Open Golf Championship at the Karnataka Golf Association course on Friday.

The Faridabad-based professional, who plays at the DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurgaon, shot a final round of 4-under-68 to total 13-under-27 to continue his dream season after a PGTI Feeder Tour victory at Lucknow in October.

Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar (71) finished runner-up on 12-under-276 in the Rs 40 lakh tournament which is the penultimate leg of the 2019 season.

Lohan (70-67-70-68), who along with Rashid Khan, Rahul Bajaj and Abhijit Singh Chadha was part of the Indian team that won silver at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, had a memorable day at the KGA with seven birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey on his card.

Abhinav, tied second overnight two shots off the lead, made a steady start with pars on the first four holes. He then took control with four birdies against one bogey before making the turn for home.

The 30-year-old carried the momentum on to the back nine with three consecutive birdies that included two 20-foot conversions. With his putter rolling hot, Abhinav stretched his lead to a comfortable five shots by the 14^th hole.

Twist in the tale

In a late twist, Lohan hit an erratic tee shot and followed it up with a three-putt on the 16^th for a double-bogey. His nearest rival and overnight leader by two, Karandeep Kochhar, birdied the 15^th to get within two shots of the leader.

Abhinav was shaky on the 17^th too as the finish line drew close. He found the trees there but managed to salvage par with another 20-foot conversion to carry a two-shot cushion on to the last hole before sealing his maiden full title with par on the last hole.

“I’m just relieved to win on the main tour for the first time,” Abhinav said later. “It’s my ninth season as a professional and I had come close to winning on quite a few occasions in the past. I had a poor 2018 as I missed 10 cuts in a row and lost my PGTI card. So this victory is all the more sweet.

“I’ve had a very solid second half this season. I first won on the Feeder Tour which was a tense playoff victory and gave me the confidence and momentum to carry forward on to the main tour. I’ve also been in contention in Jaipur and Kolkata with 11^th and 10^th place finishes.

Paying off

“I putted really well this week. I took only 28 putts today. I spent four months practicing at the KGA last season and that seems to have paid off this week as I was familiar with the course and knew the lines on the greens.

“After a terrific run on the first 14 holes today, I had some hiccups and must admit that I was a little bit nervous with victory in sight. But the long conversion on the 17^th really helped me relax as it gave me a two-shot advantage going onto the last hole.

“I then played safe and hit a four-iron off the tee as I was looking for a par. The idea was to hit the green in three and let Karandeep go for broke in order to catch up with me. It worked out well. I’ll now head to the last event of the season with loads of confidence.”

Lohan became the fourth Indian golfer to register his maiden title on the Tata Steel PGTI this season following Kshitij Naveed Kaul, Priyanshu Singh and Veer Ahlawat. Abhinav’s victory and winner’s cheque worth Rs. 6,46,600 pushed him up from 43^rd to 19^th in the PGTI Rankings.

Kochhar slips up

Karandeep Kochhar (67-69-69-71) slipped with early bogeys on the third and fifth and a double-bogey on the sixth where he found the water. He then got back into the match with four birdies on the back nine before falling just short with a 71. He moved up two spots in the PGTI’s money list from seventh to fifth.

Bangalore duo M. Dharma, with the day’s best round of 67, and Rahil Gangjee (71) took third and fourth place with 11-under-277 and 10-under-278 respectively.

Eighteen-year-old local amateur Akshay Niranjan (70), playing only his second professional event, took a creditable tied fifth place on 9-under-279 along with Om Prakash Chouhan (69) of Mhow while Aryan Roopa Anand finished tied 39^th on 4-over-292.

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Also read: Chinnappa, Sudhir, Kapil in three-way tie for lead at KGA