By Rahul Banerji
Karan Pratap Singh fired a closing 2-under par 70 to prevail by two shots at the Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational 2023 in Gurgaon on Saturday.
Karan Pratap (68-71-70) mastered the conditions at his home course in the final round to end up on 7-under 209 for his second career title and a winner’s cheque of Rs 30 lakh at the Rs 2 crore event.
It took Singh up three places to second in the Tata Steel PGTI Ranking with season’s earnings of Rs 72,33,173. The winner also earned himself a Skoda Slavia, the PGTI said.
Andorra’s Kevin Esteve Rigaill (72-70-69), Gurgaon’s Sunhit Bishnoi (69-70-72) and Delhi-based Rashid Khan (68-70-73) finished joint runners-up on 5-under 211.
Overnight tied second and one shot off the lead, Karan Pratap made a steady start on Saturday and was 1-under after three holes.
The 23-year-old who turned pro in 2019, then dropped a shot on the sixth hole but bounced back with a birdie on the eighth, something he managed to do through the week.
Slight blip
An errant tee shot on 11 saw Singh take a penalty drop resulting in a bogey and losing the lead. But a crucial par putt from 20 feet on 14 changed the course of the match.
Singh then scored two more birdies on 15 and 18, converting a 10-footer on the latter, to walk away with the trophy.
An elated Karan said, “On the back nine, I knew I had to make birdies and keep the mistakes out as Sunhit and Rashid were ahead at that stage.
“I managed to execute my plan well. The two birdies on the last four holes had to do a lot with the 20-footer for par on 14 which gave me much-needed momentum. That was my first long putt of the day.
“On 15 and 18, I played conservatively by laying up and that paid off for me. Winning at my home course is a special feeling, it’s something that I’ve dreamt of for a long time.
“This win means a lot for me and for my family who came out to watch me on the course today. I’m looking forward to driving around in the Skoda Slavia.”
Tripping up
Bishnoi (72) and overnight leader Rashid Khan (73), the leaders for most of the final day, slipped down the leaderboard with consecutive bogeys on holes 16 and 17 to end their title chances.
Rookie Kevin Esteve Rigaill (69), overnight tied fifth, came up with four birdies and a bogey in his 69 to move up three places and record his best finish on the PGTI.
Om Prakash Chouhan, who finished tied 22nd on 4-over 220, continues to lead the order of merit with season’s earnings of Rs 98,80,559.
The final day also witnessed the Pro-Am Team Championship which was won by professionals Chikkarangappa S. and Gaurav Pratap Singh and amateurs Sanjay Gupta and Mahavir Singhvi with a 6-under score.
Angad Cheema and Ashok Kumar (pros), with Vijay Thomas and Sachin Mehta were second on 5-under while Mari Muthu R. and Abhinav Lohan with Arjun Nohwar and Punit Beriwala were third on 2-under.
Top four
209: Karan Pratap Singh (68-71-70)
211: Kevin Esteve Rigaill (72-70-69); Sunhit Bishnoi (69-70-72); Rashid Khan (68-70-73)
Also read: Rashid Khan takes slim lead into KDGT Invitational final round
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