Saptak Talwar receives his trophy from Adani Enterprises director Pranav Adani and PGTI president Kapil Dev at the Jaypee Greens course on Friday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Saptak Talwar ended a long wait for his maiden title with a flawless display in the final round of the Rs 1.5 crore Adani Invitational at his home Jaypee Greens course in Greater Noida on Friday.
Talwar fired a blemish-free 5 under par under 67 as he battled overnight joint leaders Arjun Prasad of Delhi and Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Sandhu through the day to win by a single stroke, the PGTI said.
Talwar (67-72-69-67), who had previously posted two runner-up finishes on the PGTI since turning pro in 2021, ended the week on 13 under 275.
Prasad (68-69-69-70) was second, and on 12 under 276 and Sandhu third on 11 under 277. Prasad was in the frame till his very last putt, a bogey when he overran the 18th green with his approach shot, to Talwar’s victory-sealing par effort.
Talwar, who studied at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, USA, prior to turning professional, picked up a cheque worth Rs 22,50,000 that propelled him from seventh to fourth on the PGTI Order of Merit.
The 26-year-old has playing rights on the Asian Tour via the 2022 Qualifying School and also on the European Challenge Tour.
Early push
Talwar was two off the lead at the start on Friday and put early pressure on the overnight leaders with birdies on the first two par-5s, the second and fourth holes.
He then added two more birdies on holes five and 10 using his wedges to great effect. He narrowly missed a five-foot eagle putt on the par-5 12th where he picked up his fifth birdie of the day.
Talwar, who had made three three-putts for bogeys earlier in the week, then saw it home with pars on the last six holes.
He made a crucial par save from eight feet on 16 that helped keep his card bogey-free and gave him the momentum towards the end.
“It’s great to win at my home course in the presence of my family and friends. This is my fifth straight week of competition and my endurance was my biggest asset this week,” Talwar said later.
“The fact that it was a relatively stress-free week because I was playing in home conditions and there was not much preparation needed also helped.
“At the start of the day, my approach was to just be patient and keep myself in the mix as long as possible as I knew the course well and was aware that I will have my opportunities at some stage.
“After the good start, the eight-foot par putt on 16 I feel was a pivotal moment for me today. It helped me keep my card clean and gave me the confidence to finish well.”
Late slip
Prasad, also searching for his first title, had five birdies and three bogeys in his closing 70 in the course of which he repeatedly fought back from tough positions. He had the opportunity to take the match into a playoff before bogeying the final hole.
Sandhu, a two-time winner on the PGTI this season, sank five birdies on the last day but an early double bogey and two bogeys on the back nine put him out of contention as he signed for a 71.
Day one leader N. Thangaraja of Sri Lanka, who finished tied for 17th on 2 under 286, had a hole-in-one on hole 14 in his card of 1 under 71.
Nineteen-year-old Sukhman Singh of Greater Noida, the lone amateur to make the cut, won the prize for the best performance by an amateur. Sukhman, a first-year student at DME College in Noida, totalled 6 over 294 for the week to finish tied 46th.
Also read: Arjun Prasad, Yuvraj Sandhu stay ahead at Adani Invitational
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