By Rahul Banerji
Big, strapping Udayan Mane powered to a second hole playoff victory over fellow-big hitter Veer Ahlawat in the Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship at the Eagleton course near Bangalore to carve out a little slice of Tour history on Friday.
The Pune-based Mane, who also won the Tata Steel Tour Championship 2019 and the Golconda Masters 2020, became only the second player after Ashok Kumar to have won three consecutive events on the PGTI.
Ashok achieved the feat during the PGTI’s inaugural 2006-07 season.
Mane (68-67-67-66) fired a fiery last round of 8-under par 66 to tie Gurgaon’s Ahlawat (67-65-65-71) on 20-under-268 after the regulation 72 holes.
The two then went into a playoff where Mane prevailed on the second extra hole for his 10th professional title.
Late surge
Mane, lying fourth five shots off the lead overnight fashioned a remarkable come-from-behind victory at the Rs. 30 lakh event on his former home course.
The big-built 28-year-old began with a flourish to pick up four birdies even before he had made the turn.
Mane’s only blemish came on the ninth where he missed an up and down for a bogey but quickly neutralised that with birdie on the very next hole.
He then had a quiet stretch with pars over the next six holes which included an incredible par-save on the 13th. He finally made a late surge with birdies on the last two holes to catch up with Ahlawat.
Crucial difference
Mane and Ahlawat made pars on the first playoff hole. However, on the second, Ahlawat bogeyed after missing a five-footer for par while Mane walked away with a par and the title.
“This is turning out to be an unbelievable run for me,” Mane said later. “My hard work seems to be paying off. I feel I drove it better last week in Hyderabad, but this week I hit my approach shots, irons and wedges much better.
“The crucial moments in my round were the birdie on the fourth where I gave myself a good yardage with my second shot, the par-save on the 13th where I landed my third shot from 90 yards to within a foot for a tap-in and the 12-foot birdie conversion on the 18th that took me into the playoff.
“I began the day with the idea of making the most of my opportunities. But with the crowd on my side and the familiar conditions at Eagleton I felt I had the momentum.
‘Had an edge’
“Once in the playoff, I knew what it would take to win at this venue having seen quite a few playoffs here in the past. I also felt I had the edge over Veer as I had won my only previous playoff while Veer had lost his only previous one.
“These situations give me an opportunity to develop my killer instinct even when I don’t have my ‘A’ game,” added Mane, who stretched his lead in the PGTI Order of Merit as his tally read Rs. 11,31,550. He earned a cheque worth Rs. 4,84,950, for his efforts at Eagleton.
Mane followed in the footsteps of Ashok Kumar who also won three titles on the trot, the IndianOil XtraPremium Masters, the Solaris Global Green Open Golf and SRF All India Professional Golf Matchplay Championship, between February and March in 2007.
Olympic probable?
When the updated world rankings are released on Monday, Udayan is likely to make a significant jump in the world rankings from his current 303rd position with a good haul of OGWR points.
That would take him into second place behind Delhi’s Rashid Khan as the highest-ranked Indians on the world rankings and a probable shot at the Tokyo Olympic Games later this year.
The lanky Ahlawat, who began the final round with a two-shot lead, shot three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine. He then missed out on a few birdies in the second half as he made pars all the way, enabling Mane to draw level with him.
Veer, who finished fourth at last week’s Golconda Masters, thus continued with his consistent run as he moved up from fourth to second in the PGTI’s money list with season’s earnings of Rs. 5,37,550.
Ahlawat said later, “My game has been in good shape since the back half of last season. However, I feel I have to focus more on my performance and my game plan in the last round.”
Chikkarangappa S. (67) and Mari Muthu R. (69) both of Bangalore, shared third place on 18-under-270.
City-mate Khalin Joshi (66) was fifth on 17-under-271 while Patna’s Aman Raj (76) finished sixth on 13-under-275.
Shubhankar Sharma (73-71-72-69), who shot his best round of the week, a three-under-69, on the last day, finished tied 29th on 3-under- par 285.
Also read: Aman Raj is early leader in Players C’hip as Shubhankar makes quiet start
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