By Rahul Banerji
Two young guns of Indian professional golf went head to head on the final day of the Jaipur Open with Priyanshu Singh emerging the winner literally in a shootout over Kshitij Naveed Kaul at the Rambagh Golf Club on Friday.
The Gurgaon-basedPriyanshu pipped his defeated Delhi rival in a playoff for his maiden win after both had finished level on 19-under par 261 on the final day of the Rs 30 lakh Tata Steel PGTI event.
Twenty-three-year-old Priyanshu, the 2019 PGTI Qualifying School champion, and 18-year-old Kshitij, already a winner on the tour this season, kept the issue alive till the former won on the first playoff hole, the PGTI said.
While Priyanshu returned a solid 5-under-65 on the day, Kshitij produced the round of the tournament, a spectacular 10-under-60 that was also bogey-free.
Bangalore’s M. Dharma (68) and Syed Saqib Ahmed (69) were joint third at 18-under-262.
Three shots behind at the start, Priyanshu (65-68-63-65), began with a birdie and a bogey on the front nine. Birdies almost immediately after the turn then got him going, especially a 30-foot conversion.
Late run
Priyanshu, who was at University of South Florida and played college golf in the United States prior to turning pro, then made a late charge with three late birdies to catch Kshitij who had earlier set the course alight with his spectacular round.
Priyanshu, who also gained experience playing three events on the PGA Tour Series – China this summer, came up with tremendous bunker shot during the playoff to set up a two-foot putt for victory even as his rival struggled with his chipping during the tie-breaker.
Priyanshu said, “It’s special to win my first title in my rookie season. I’ve had a pretty consistent season so far with a top-5 and two other top-20s already under my belt. I didn’t lead the tournament at any stage this week. So I wasn’t really nervous going into the final stages of the last round and the playoff.
“The experience of playing in difficult conditions in China earlier this year helped me a lot as it magnified the things that I needed to focus on in order to improve my game,” added Priyanshu, who won the PGTI Q School this January by an impressive six shots.
Sensational hitting
Earlier in the day Kshitij (68-69-64-60), tied 18th overnight and eight shots off the lead, posted an unbelievable 60 in a round that featured eight birdies and an eagle.
Kshitij, who won his first pro title in April this year in Pune, collected three birdies on the front nine thanks to a couple of long conversions.
The former India no. 1 amateur then did the bulk of his scoring on the back nine where he picked up seven more shots, signing off with a birdie-eagle-birdie sequence.
Kshitij, who stays third on the PGTI Order of Merit, said, “I just wanted to go as low as I could. I played the par-5s and par-3s really well today. I was five-under on the par-5s. I’m delighted to have shot my career-best round of 60 and also my career-best tournament total of 19-under.”
Defending champion Aman Raj of Patna, was joint fifth at 16-under-264 along with Delhi’s Shamim Khan (65), the winner of the inaugural edition in 2017, and Mysore’s Yashas Chandra (66).
Rashid Khan, who continues to lead the PGTI Order of Merit with season’s earnings of Rs. 44,46,903, was 10th at 14-under-266 with a final round of 64.
Also read: Technique or result: What’s more important to your golf?
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