IndianOil Servo Masters champion Jamal Hossain receives his trophy from Lt. Col. Ajay Kaila (Retd.), ED & RH, Digboi Refinery on Saturday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Jamal Hossain of Bangladesh saw off a series of stiff challenges with a stoic closing 1 under par 71 to take the honours in the Rs 85 lakh IndianOil Servo Masters at Digboi Golf Links on Saturday.
The seasoned Hossain (68-65-72-71) totaled 12-under 276 to win his fifth title by one shot that was worth Rs 12.75 lakh and a 22-place jump to 17th in the Tata Steel PGTI Ranking.
There was a four-way tie for second place on 11 under 277 between Noida’s Gaurav Pratap Singh (72-67-71-67), Delhi golfers Kapil Kumar (71-70-68-68) and Sachin Baisoya (69-73-67-68) and Pune’s Divyansh Dubey (68-70-69-70).
Udayan Mane (70) and Samarth Dwivedi (70) shared sixth place on 278, the PGTI said.
Lucknow’s Sanjay Kumar signed for the tournament’s low score of 8 under 64 to secure tied 12th place on 7 under 281.
Deven Bhumij (78), the only Digboi-based professional to make the cut, ended the week in tied 46th place at 6 over 294.
Early setback
Hossain, who enjoyed a two-shot lead over the last two rounds, dropped a shot early for the third day in a row. Again, like the previous days, the 39-year-old rebounded with birdies on the next two holes landing it within four feet of the flag on both occasions.
Despite some great chipping that earned him birdies on holes 11 and 14, Hossain conceded three with some ordinary putting that looked like derailing his title chances.
With Gaurav Pratap, Kapil, Sachin Baisoya and Dubey all breathing down his neck, Hossain relied on his years of experience to bring out his best on the last two holes and snatch victory.
Two excellent iron shots and a clutch putt from eight feet for birdie on 17 followed before the Dhaka resident sealed victory with a brilliant chip-putt for par on 18.
Around him, closest chasers Dubey (70), Gaurav Pratap (67) and Baisoya (68) bogeyed the 18th hole to crash out of contention.
Kapil (68), who also mounted a serious challenge couldn’t find a birdie in the later stages of his round to catch up with Jamal.
“I made a good comeback once again after a poor start,” Hossain said later.
Salvage job
“After two bad shots on 10, I recovered really well to salvage a bogey there because it could’ve been worse. My poor putting continued today but my tee shots, approaches and chipping saved the day.
“Towards the end, I just thought that I have to give it my all and things fell in place perfectly for me. The birdie on 17 gave me a lot of self-belief as that eight-footer was the longest putt I had made all day.
“I then used all my experience to get out of a tough spot on 18 and see it home with a three-foot par conversion.
“I’m delighted to win here at the magnificent Digboi Golf Links for the first time and would like to thank IndianOil for supporting this event.”
Also read: Hossain hangs tough to maintain two-shot lead at Servo Masters
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