By Rahul Banerji
Manu Gandas scored a comfortable three-shot win at the Glade One Masters 2022 with an 8-under 208 total in Ahmedabad on Friday.
In the final round, the Gurgaon golfer carded a 2-under 70 to cap earlier rounds of 36, 34 and 68 and finish ahead of Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta.
Gupta (36-37-73-65) totalled 5-under 211 that included a course record of 7-under 65 in round four of the Rs. 40 lakh event.
Harendra improved upon Aalaap I.L.’s mark of 67 set during round three on Thursday.
On the Asian Tour meanwhile, Karandeep Kochhar was the leading Indian after two days of the $1.5 million Thailand International Series in shared 10th place on 11-under par 133 overall.
The young Chandigarh golfer, second in last season’s PGTI Order of Merit standings returned his second bogey-free round in as many days at Hua Hin to sit three shots behind the leader.
Japan’s 19-year-old Ryo Hisatsune led on 14-under with a 6-under 66 on Friday by one shot from Koreans Sungyeol Kwon and Doyeob Mun, who both carded 66s as well.
Long conversions
Overnight leader Gandas had four birdies featuring three long conversions on the front nine to open up a seven-shot lead over the pack.
Gandas, runner-up at last year’s inaugural edition, sank a birdie on the opening hole followed by three more in a row from the seventh to the ninth.
He landed his approach from 110 yards to within a couple of feet of the flag on the ninth.
The 25-year-old, who didn’t look at the leaderboard through the day, made bogey-birdie on 10 and 11 before making pars all the way till 17.
On 18, he found the water to drop two shots but still had enough of a cushion to keep the rest at bay.
Manu, who bagged his second career title, collected a cheque worth Rs.6,46,600 which moved him up from sixth to first in the PGTI Order of Merit.
Crucial birdies
Gandas said later, “It was a combination of carrying forward the confidence from last season when I won my first event and good memories of this course from last year when I finished runner-up.
“The solid front nine set me up well for the second half of the round. Importantly, I made birdies on the two crucial holes, the first and ninth, which really lifted my spirits and helped me play freely.
“There were some nerves today but that was not due to the leaderboard pressure as I didn’t look at the scores even once.
“Hopefully, this win has set the tone for me for the rest of the season.”
Gupta, tied 16th and eight off the pace after round three, was off to a brilliant start as he drained four bridies over the first 11 holes.
Gupta then dropped a shot before signing off in style with birdies on the last four holes.
Karan Pratap Singh of Faridabad claimed third place on 4-under 212 while Mysore’s Yashas Chandra took fourth on 3-under 213.
Baisoya next best
At Hua Hin, Honey Baisoya was just behind Kochhar on 10-under 134 alongside overnight leader Sihwan Kim of the United States in tied 17th place.
Viraj Madappa was a further shot behind in shared 24th place.
Gaganjeet Bhullar and Ajeetesh Sandhu (8-under 136), Aman Raj (7-under) and Chikkarangappa S. (6-under) were the others to make the cut that came at 6-under 138.
Missing out were Shiv Kapur (-5), Veer Ahlawat and Khalin Joshi (-4), Aadil Bedi, S.S.P. Chawrasia, PGTI Order of Merit winner Udayan Mane and Rahil Ganjee.
“It’s been two great days, bogey-free for 36 holes so that is obviously inspiring for the next two days,” Kochhar told the Asian Tour website.
“The ball striking has been good overall. I’ve hit the ball well, keeping it in play off the tee and hitting good iron shots. Hopefully I can continue this for the next two days.”
On the next two days, last week’s Gujarat Open winner added, “Just keep my game going for the next two days, and will be in a good position to win maybe.
“It’s been a while I’ve been in this position on the Asian Tour. Last two events in Singapore I missed the cut but I’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from those two events and come back stronger.
“I learnt a lot from those two weeks and I’m feeling pretty comfortable even though its my first time at Black Mountain.”
Also read: Gandas takes Ahmedabad lead, two Indians in Thailand top-10
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