Gandas steals the show at Players C’ship for eighth career win

By Rahul Banerji

Manu Gandas fired an impressive 6 under par 64 to lift his eighth career title at the Rs 1 crore Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship at Kolkata’s Tollygunge Club on Friday.

The Gurgaon golfer carded rounds of 65, 67, 64 and 64 for an imposing 20 under par total of 260 and stole the show with the day’s best card, the PGTI said

Overnight leader Rahil Gangjee (65-65-64-68) finished runner-up on 18-under 262.

Twenty-seven-year-old Gandas, who had earned a spot on the DP World Tour in 2023 after topping the 2022 rankings in 2022, drew on all his experience of playing in Europe last year.

His second straight 64 was a bogey-free effort that was punctuated by three birdies each on either side of the turn on Friday.

Trailing Gangjee by two shots at the start of the day, Gandas piled on the pressure with some great wedge shots that helped him pick up three strokes by the turn.

Gandas continued to fire with his short game on the back nine, making two critical birdie putts from between 10 and 15 feet to finally move into the lead and eventually seal the title.

Good gameplan

“I wasn’t thinking any differently today and just stuck to my gameplan and continued doing what I did well earlier in the week,” Gandas said.

“The first round was my best in terms of ball-striking. But on the next two days, the irons were not up to the mark. However, I managed to salvage those rounds thanks to my short game.

The long birdie putt on 17 today was crucial as it gave me a two-shot cushion going into the last hole.

“I’ve drawn a lot of positives from my experience of playing on the DP World Tour last year which has helped my game immensely. The fields there were world-class and the environment was completely different.

“I got to see where my game stood and where it needed to be in order for me to excel at the international level. Just continue what I’m doing.”

Now based in Bangalore but Kolkata bred, Gangjee controlled proceedings till midway into the second nine having drained five birdies against one dropped shot.

However, a double-bogey on 14 saw his title hopes dim as Manu emerged as the new leader.

Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma (65) finished third on 17-under 263.

Rookie Stepan Danek of the Czech Republic (67), making his PGTI debut, ended tied fourth on 16-under 264 along with Delhi-based Saptak Talwar (68).  

PGTI Q School topper Matias Dominguez made a late run into the top 10 with a closing 66 that saw him climb 11 places in the standings to T10 on 12 under 268 alongside Karan Taunk, Sarthak Chibber and Shaurya Binu. 

Final top five

260: Manu Gandas (65-67-64-64)

262: Rahil Gangjee (65-65-64-68)

263: Akshay Sharma (67-67-64-65)

264: Stepan Danek (64-66-67-67); Saptak Talwar (66-65-65-68)

Also read: Rahil Gangjee opens up two-shot lead at Players Championship