Gurgaon Open winner M. Dharma of Bangalore in action at the Classic Golf and Country Club on Friday. It was his first title since December of 2017. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Bangalore golfer M. Dharma claimed a merited victory in the inaugural Rs 1 crore Gurgaon Open at the Classic Golf and Country Club, seven years after his last title.
Dharma signed for a final round card of 4 under par 68 to finish an impressive five strokes ahead of the field in Nuh, Haryana, the PGTI said.
The 38-year-old totaled 18 under 270 for the week to end a seven-year wait since his last win, the CG Open at the Bombay Presidency in December of 2017.
Dharma’s third professional title earned him a cheque worth Rs 15 lakh which lifted him from 40th to seventh in the Tata Steel PGTI Ranking.
Khalin Joshi (69-71-68-67), also of Bangalore, had the day’s joint low card of 67 to share second place on 13 under 275.
The other two joint runners-up were Delhi’s Saarthak Chhibber (71-70-64-70) who registered a career-best finish and Mysore’s Yashas Chandra (69-69-69-68) with his third top-10 of the season.
Dharma (66-69-67-68), who enjoyed a two-shot edge lead overnight, built on his lead with birdies on holes five, seven, eight and 12, landing the ball to within 10 feet of the pin each time.
Minor blip
Four strokes up after 12 holes on a relatively calm day, Dharma dropped two shots on the last six holes but also capitalised on the par-5s 14th and 18th with birdies to close out the win with ease.
Dharma said, “I’ve had to wait a long time for this victory so I’m just soaking in the moment. The ball-striking was the best aspect of my game this week.
“Even though I came close to winning a number of times over the last few years, I kept patience, didn’t lose heart and stuck to my task by continuing to practice hard. This positive approach finally paid off for me.
“Today I felt in control after those three birdies on the front nine. The big change in my game has been that I now don’t get angry with myself or lose focus after dropping a bogey or two. I take it in my stride and look to come back stronger.”
Joshi’s (67) final round featured six birdies and a bogey.
Yashas Chandra (68) also continued his consistent showing with an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys to join the three-way tie for second place.
Chhibber (70) made three birdies and a bogey on Friday to finish as the third joint runner-up.
Final top five
270: M, Dharma (66-69-67-68)
275: Khalin Joshi (69-71-68-67); Yashas Chandra M.S. (69-69-69-68); Saarthak Chhibber (71-70-64-70)
276: Md Akbar Hossain (69-70-66-71)
Also read: Bangalore’s Dharma is Moving Day leader at Gurgaon Open
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