By Rahul Banerji
Maiden Asian Tour winner Khalin Joshi of Bangalore is the PGTI Order of Merit champion for 2018. With just the Tata Open left to be played, he already holds an unassailable lead in the money list.
The 26-year-old who won his first international title at the Panasonic Open India at the Delhi Golf Club two months ago, has earnings of Rs. 60,74,840.
Twenty-one-year-old Viraj Madappa, the youngest Indian to win an international event when he bagged the Asian Tour’s Take Solutions Masters in Bangalore this season, is currently second on the merit list with earnings of Rs. 46,17,097.
Seasoned veteran
Delhi’s Shamim Khan is third with earnings of Rs. 34,28,798 and even a win at the Tata Open will not be enough for him to challenge Joshi’s position as the winner’s cheque at the event is worth Rs. 16,16,500.
Said Joshi on his win, “It’s been a dream to win an Order of Merit title and to achieve it on a tour where I started my professional career is quite special.
“To be honest, it’s not been a very consistent year for me, but I’m happy that I still managed to put together some good weeks and get the job done.
“So many great Indian golfers have won the Order of Merit in India before going on to achieve bigger things at the international stage. So it’s nice to be in their company.
‘Happy coincidence’
“The fact that my good friend Shubhankar Sharma won the Asian Tour Order of Merit while I won the PGTI Order of Merit at the same time, is a happy coincidence, and makes the season even more memorable for me.
“My focus will now be on performing well at the European Tour and Asian Tour joint sanctioned events next season so that I can earn my card on the European Tour.
“The PGTI has provided many golfers a platform to sharpen our games and make a smooth and successful transition to the international level.
“I’m confident that this trend will continue in the coming years as the tour is set to grow bigger with its inclusion in the Official World Golf Ranking system from 2019 onward.”
Incidentally, Joshi also finished a career-best 17th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit this year.
Comeback
In Marrakesh, Morocco, Astha Madan recovered well from a quadruple bogey-bogey start to end the day in tied 10th place in the second round of the Ladies European Tour’s Final Stage.
Madan, the leader at 7-under 65 after first day, carded 74 and is now five-under at 139.
Among the other Indians, Tvesa Malik (69) improved from T25th to T12th at 4-under 140 while Diksha Dagar (71) is T14 with a 3-under 141. Vani Kapoor (76) is T49, while Sharmila Nicollet 75) is T85 andRidhima Dilawari (80) is T95, the same as Saaniya Sharma (77).
Also read: NGC hands tour rookie Ridhima her maiden pro title
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