Thangaraja coasts to Ahmedabad Open win with clinical display

Sri Lanka’s N. Thangaraja (second from left) receives his Ahmedabad Open trophy and cheque from IndusInd Bank zonal head west Rakesh Mehta at the Kensville Golf and Country Resort on Friday. Also seen are PGTI chief executive Amandeep Johl (extreme left) and tournament director Sampath Chari (centre) who was officiating at his 900^th event. Image courtesy PGTI.

By Rahul Banerji 

N. Thangaraja started and ended the day five strokes ahead of his nearest rivals for his fifth Professional Golf Tour of India title in the Ahmedabad Open presented by IndusInd Bank at the Kenville Golf and Country Resort on Friday.

The Sri Lankan golfer turned in a clinical final-round performance of 1 over par 73 at the Rs 1 crore event to shut out the chasing pack with an 8 under 280 total on the par-72, 7,210-yard Kensville course, the PGTI said.

The 43-year-old Thangaraja (65-73-69-73) made the most of his overnight advantage to pick up a cheque worth Rs 15 lakh that lifted him from seventh to second place on the PGTI Order of Merit.

Mysore’s Yashas Chandra M.S. (72-70-70-73) also struck a closing 73 to end the week as runner-up on 3 under 285 while Italy’s Michele Ortolani (68-74-72-72) was third on 2 under 286 to give the leaderboard a truly international look.

Ahmedabad’s Varun Parikh (72) and Harendra Gupta (75) of Chandigarh tied for fourth on 1 under 287.

Just five players from a surviving field of 56 ended their 72 holes with sub-par scores, a measure of how testing the Kensville track had been and underlining Thangaraja’s mastery of the course and conditions.

Quiet run

Thangaraja, who set the bar in round one before regaining the lead in round three, had a relatively quiet final day with one early birdie and two bogeys in his last three holes, by which time he had all but locked up the title.

It was his fifth PGTI title in all and the first since the Vizag Open two years ago.

The Colombo resident played a steady round and was untroubled for much of the day. Thanga dropped shots only towards the end on holes 16 and 17 when held a daunting eight-shot lead and victory was a foregone conclusion.

“I made a solid start and when the gap between myself and the rest continued to widen, I realised that I didn’t need to do anything fancy,” Thangaraja said later.

“I then looked to play regulation golf trying to hit the most fairways and greens possible. After the front nine, I was quite confident of victory.

“I think control over the low shot really helped me in the windy conditions this week. Even though it was not as breezy today, the first three rounds which featured a lot of low shots helped me lay the foundation for this title.

“It’s good to have a win early in the season as it gives momentum for the rest of the year.”

Chandra, who secured his fourth runner-up finish on the PGTI, capped the week with a 73 punctuated by four birdies, three bogeys and a double.

Also read: Thangaraja pulls away with five-shot lead at Ahmedabad Open