Gandas racks up season record sixth win at Chawrasia Invitational

By Rahul Banerji

Manu Gandas continued his dominant display in the 2022 Tata Steel PGTI season with a record sixth win of the year at the inaugural S.S.P. Chawrasia Invitational in Kolkata on Saturday.

The Gurgaon golfer eased home at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club by a two-shot margin over playing partner and international star Anirban Lahiri.

Gaganjeet Bhullar, the third member of the lead group took third place a further shot behind Lahiri at the Rs 1 crore event presented by TAKE.

For Gandas (69-66-72-68) it was a seventh career title and came on the back of a solid four-under 68 in the closing round that took him to  13-under 275.

Gandas’ triumph at the season’s penultimate event earned him Rs. 15 lakh and put him in pole position in the Tata Steel PGTI Rankings with a significant lead in total season’s earnings.

Overnight joint leader Lahiri (71-65-71-70) was second on 11-under 277 while Bhullar (69-72-67-71) claimed third place at nine-under par 279.

Tournament host S.S.P. Chawrasia finished tied 21^st at three-over 291. He was best-placed among the Kolkata-based professionals.

Slipping away

Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Singh Sandhu secured tied 25^th place on four-over 292 and as a result, slipped to second place in the money list.

Yuvraj’s season earnings stand at Rs. 68.47 lakh and he now trails Gandas by over Rs. 12 lakh going into the season-ending event next week.

Gandas opened with a couple of good up-and-down birdies as Lahiri kept pace with him by also sinking birdies on the same holes.

Manu then began to pull away with two more birdies on the fifth and ninth where he drained putts from between seven and 12 feet.

Both birdied after making the turn but Lahiri then dropped a double bogey, missing the green and his chip-putt, while Manu made a par save with an incredible chip and tap-in.

Gandas moved into a five-shot lead with another birdie and while he closed the day with bogeys on the last two holes and Lahiri picked up one shot, the former still had two shots in hand at the end.

Manu said, “I’m happy that I was able to perform the way I wanted to.

Clear focus

“It’s great to have my sixth win of the season which is a record on the PGTI but I’m just looking to continue doing what I do well and not thinking too much about the records.

“I stuck to my plans through the week and converted a lot of chances, so it was a satisfying performance. My drives and my putting stood out this week.

“It was a memorable experience to play alongside two of Indian golf’s biggest names Anirban and Gaganjeet. They’ve played in the most elite fields across the world.

“But today I didn’t think too much about who I was playing with. I only focused on controlling my own game and I did that well.”

Bhullar picked up three birdies on the first 10 holes to keep himself in the hunt. He then slipped out of contention after trading three bogeys for a birdie over the final seven holes.

The S.S.P. Chawrasia Invitational was the last full-field event of the season and decided the top-60 who earned exemption on the PGTI for next season.

It also completed the field for the season-ending Tata Steel Tour Championship in Jamshedpur next week which will only feature those making the cut this week.

Also read: Lahiri, Gandas in Chawrasia Invitational lead on windy third day