Veer Ahlawat battles his way to maiden PGTI title in Digboi

By Rahul Banerji

Veer Ahlawat survived a pitched battle with six-time former winner Mukesh Kumar to notch up his maiden title with a brave display in the Rs 60 lakh IndianOil Servo Masters Golf 2019 in Digboi on Saturday.

The pair, playing two groups apart, were locked in a ding-dong battle for the lead through the day and especially on the back nine before the Gurgaon-based Ahlawat prevailed with a level par 72 against Mukesh’s 4-under 68.

The 23-year-old Ahlawat (69-64-68-72), overnight leader by three shots, tallied 15-under 273 for the championship, one better than Mukesh (74-67-65-68) and Bangalore’s M. Dharma (67-67-70-70), who were tied on 274s.

Ahlawat this ended a four-year wait for his first professional win, and it came on the back of his best show on the Asian Tour, a tied eighth place at last week’s Panasonic Open India.

Solid gains

The victory also lifted him from seventh to third place in the 2019 Tata Steel PGTI Order of Merit.

According to the PGTI, Ahlawat, runner-up in 2017, started with a bogey but thereafter birdied the first three par-5s, the seventh, ninth and 11^th, at the cost of a bogey on the 10^th.

Mukesh Kumar came up with some solid iron play to set up birdie conversions from close on six of the first 11 holes. By the 11^th hole, Mukesh and Ahlawat were in a tie for the lead.

The 54-year-old Mukesh’s prospects brightened when Ahlawat conceded a two-shot lead with a double-bogey on the 14^th but the long-hitter came right back with a 17-foot eagle conversion on the par-5 15^th to draw level again.

The drama continued with former Asian Tour winner Mukesh struggling with his putting on the final stretch as he made three-putt bogeys on the final two holes to hand Ahlawat a precious two-shot lead.

Determined display

Ahlawat, who lost out in a playoff to Shamim Khan at the 2017 edition, was not to be denied this time around as he made a chip-in for par after finding the hazard on the 17^th hole with his tee shot. He then sealed the title despite a bogey on the last hole.

“I just played in my natural attacking style,” Ahlawat said later. “I missed some short putts early on in the round but more than made up by capitalizing on all the four par-5s.

“I was five-under on the par-5s in round four with an eagle and three birdies.

“The 17^th was the crucial hole for me as I knew that I had to at least make a par there to have a two-shot lead going into the last hole which would almost seal my win.

“I was in trouble with my first two shots on that hole but luckily I got relief with a free drop after my second shot. Thereafter, the chip-in came just at the right time and gave me that two-shot cushion going into the last hole.

‘Big relief’

“It’s a big relief to finally get a title under my belt as I had come close to winning on a few occasions in the past. I struck the ball really well this week and also chipped and putted well.”

Ahlawat collected a prize purse of Rs. 9,69,900 and five valuable Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points for his victory. He is now set to make major gains from his current world ranking of 1094 when the updated world rankings are released on Monday.

Dharma’s short-game was not at its usual level on the day as he picked up four birdies but also dropped two shots during his 70 and never really seemed to be in a position to take the lead.

Bangalore’s Abhishek Jha (71) took fourth place at 13-under-275.

Shamim Khan of Delhi, the winner of the last two editions, finished tied 24^th at four-under-284.

Also read: Form man Ahlawat grabs Digboi event lead with 64 on day two