By Rahul Banerji
Manu Gandas played steady golf in the final round to win his maiden professional title, the Golconda Masters Telangana Open, at the Hyderabad Golf Association course on Sunday.
Leading by five shots overnight, Gandas (64-58-64-64), shot a 2-under 64 for a tournament tally of 22-under 250 to prevail by three strokes at the Rs. 40 lakh event, the Professional Golf Tour of India said.
The Telangana Open marked the resumption of the 2020-21 PGTI season after a six-month Covid-enforced break.
Gandas, 25, collected a cheque worth Rs. 6,46,600 to move from eighth to fourth in the PGTI Order of Merit. His total earnings for the season now stand at Rs. 24,12,350.
Chandigarh’s Karandeep Singh Kochhar (67-64-63-59), had the day’s best score of 7-under 59 to jump three places and finish runner-up on 19-under 253.
The 22-year-old extended his lead in the PGTI Order of Merit with season’s earnings of Rs. 42,95,130.
Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa S. (67-63-61-63), the 2019 winner, was third on 18-under 254 following a final 3-under par round.
A heavily waterlogged course necessitated almost daily changes in yardage and par scores, which was 66 on the final day against the standard 71 shots.
Praiseworthy effort
Considering the daily changes and getting the course ready for tournament play in the ever-changing conditions, there was high praise for PGTI tournament director Sampath Chari and his co-workers, both on the Tour and the host venue.
Gandas dropped a shot early in his final round and missed birdie putts from within 10 feet on three occasions on the front nine.
As on day three, he picked up the pace on the way home and opened the gap on his chasers with two quick birdies, on 10 and 11.
Missed birdie opportunities followed on 13, 14 and 15 but the golfer from the DLF Golf & Country Club made up with a couple of long-range conversions on 16 and 17.
Though Gandas closed with a bogey, he had enough of a cushion on the field to seal his first pro win.
Incidentally, the winners on both professional tours last week, Jahnavi Bakshi on the WPGT and Gandas, train at the DLF Golf Academy, a feather in the cap for coaches Karan Bindra and Anitya Chand.
Gandas, who now has six top-10s in the current season, said, “I feel relieved and happy to have finally won a title after coming close on a few occasions before.
“I’ve waited a long time for this. The way I was playing this season, I knew that a win was just around the corner.
“My ball-striking has been at its best this year and psychologically my process has been more concrete.
“I was comfortable through the day and the early setbacks didn’t really bother me as I knew that I will create birdie chances for myself later in the round. I didn’t see the scoreboard too often and was just focusing on my own game.
“This win gives me tremendous confidence going ahead. I would like to thank my family for all their support and my coach Anitya Chand for his guidance.”
Clean round
Kochhar’s flawless round, the lowest of the day, saw him make all greens in regulation. The two-time winner this season sank a 30-foot birdie putt on 15 and landed his tee shot within two feet of the pin for a tap-in birdie on 18.
Karandeep, who continues as the PGTI Order of Merit leader, said, “I’m very proud of my effort as I didn’t get any practice in the 10 days prior to this event because I was unwell. A runner-up finish in that context is special.”
Bangalore’s Khalin Joshi (61) and Noida’s Amardeep Malik (65) were tied fourth on 16-under 256.
Local professional Mohd Azhar finished tied 24th on 5-under 267.
Hyderabad’s Milind Soni won the trophy for the best performance by an amateur as he ended T38 on 1-under 271. Tej Gangavarapu, the other Hyderabad-based amateur to make the cut, closed the week in 51st place on 5-over 277.
Also read: Manu Gandas maintains his hold on Telangana Open field
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