Udayan Mane wins Tour C’ship with PGTI record, Kaul is emerging player

By Rahul Banerji

In a fitting finale, Udayan Mane took the 2019 Tata Steel PGTI Tour Championship down to the wire before winning it by a single shot at the Golmuri Golf Course in Jamshedpur on Sunday.

Mane’s final aggregate of 26-under par 262 (67-66-64-65) also produced a record for the best ever tournament total in PGTI history, improving on the 24-under jointly held by Anirban Lahiri (Aamby Valley, 2010), Shubhankar Sharma (Eagleton, 2016) and Rashid Khan (Chittagong, 2019).

It took steely resolve, appropriate given the venue, from the burly Mane to ease home in the Rs. 1.5 crore event at the expense of two-time Indian Open winner Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia by the slimmest of margins. The Pune golfer waited till late before mounting a final charge that those chasing could not counter.

It was Mane’s eighth professional title overall and his second win on the PGTI this season. The winner’s cheque of Rs. 22,50,000 carried him from ninth place to third in the final PGTI Order of Merit for 2019.

‘Almost’ record

Chawrasia (63-67-65-68), who led by two shots till the 14^th hole, carded a 68 on day four to settle for second place with another outstanding total score of 25-under-263, which under most circumstances except for today, would have been a record by itself.

Aman Raj (71) of Patna, the third-round leader, ended the week in tied third place on 23-under-265 along with Delhi’s Chiragh Kumar (67). Aman was unfortunate to be penalized two shots right at the start of his round for not removing his marker on the green, but still came back strongly at the end.

Mane, fourth overnight three shots off the pace, made early gains on Sunday when he went birdie-eagle on the third and fourth holes. He drove the green on the par-4 fourth before knocking in a 24-foot putt.

Udayan made further inroads with birdies on the seventh and 11^th thanks to his iron-play. He had a quiet period over the next five holes before making an all-important birdie conversion from 10 feet on the 17^th hole that helped him draw level for the lead with Chawrasia.

Decisive move

Mane, playing in the penultimate group, finally surged ahead with a chip-putt birdie on the 18^th for an error-free 65 to set the mark at 26-under.

Four-time European Tour winner Chawrasia, playing in the leader group, needed a 12-foot birdie conversion on the last hole to take the match into a playoff. But he missed to hand Mane the winner’s takings and the stylish trophy.

“I’m pretty pleased with the entire season having registered two wins” the ecstatic Udayan, said later. “I started the year well but then had a rocky road from March to September.

“But that lean phase helped me learn a lot about myself and my golf swing and that in turn led to my better performances late in the year at Kensville (PGTI) and in Mauritius (Asian Tour).

Elite field

“The biggest takeaway from this victory is that I won a tournament which had an elite field and at a time when so many players were playing their best golf. That is a big morale-booster.

“According to me, it was a good thing that I was not playing in the leader group. I was quite happy about that because I have come from behind to win on the last day on a few occasions in the past.

“After scoring well over the first 11 holes, I had a cold patch as I was not hitting it close enough. But I knew making birdie on the 17^th was important because that would help me join SSP in the lead.  I managed to do that and did well to carry the momentum onto the 18^th.

“It’s special to end up with a record 26-under total. Interestingly, I also have the amateur record of 21-under in my name here at Golmuri. I thank my sponsor AVT for all their support which has been a major contributing factor to my good performances.”

Fatal error

Chawrasia, playing in Jamshedpur after 12 years, made steady progress through the day as he kept landing it within four feet to collect birdies on the first, fourth, ninth and 12^th holes.

The Indian Open champion drained a 12-footer for birdie on the 13^th to take a two-shot lead but stumbled when he missed an up and down from the bunker on the 15^th.

Chawrasia, a three-time winner in Jamshedpur in the past, missed his 12-foot birdie putt on the 18^th that could’ve taken him into a playoff.

Chiragh Kumar’s flawless 67 helped him gain two places and finish tied third, two strokes behind Chawrasia. Aman Raj also took a share of third after an eventful 71 that saw him make an eagle, five birdies, a bogey, a double-bogey and a triple-bogey.

Sri Lankan N. Thangaraja (71) took fifth place at 22-under-266.

Day’s best

Faridabad’s Abhinav Lohan shot the day’s best round of 64 to end in tied 13^th on 15-under-273 alongside Amardip Malik of Noida Golf Course, who climbed seven places with a final round 4-under 68.

India star Gaganjeet Bhullar was tied 31^st on 11-under-277 while Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa, finished tied 39^th with matching totals of 10-under-278.

Rashid Khan tops Order of Merit

Rashid Khan of Delhi bagged a record third Order of Merit title after finishing tied 18^th on 14-under-274 at Golmuri.

Rashid, who had earlier won the title in 2013 and 2016, closed the 2019 season with earnings of Rs. 66,27,650, the highest ever, to finish number one in the money list by a fair distance.

He won two titles during the season and had 10 top-10s and thus became the first man to be crowned PGTI no. 1 for the third time.

Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa S. finished second with season’s earnings of Rs. 50,27,778. Chikka too secured tied 18^th place in Jamshedpur this week. Mane was third and Karandeep Kochhar (Rs 30,49,222) fourth.

Rookie honours

Nineteen-year-old Kshitij Naveed Kaul of Delhi won the PGTI Emerging Player of the Year title with season’s earnings of Rs. 29,65,420, the highest among the rookies.

Kshitij, who claimed tied ninth place on 19-under-269 at the season finale, ended a creditable sixth on the PGTI Order of Merit courtesy a win and eight top-10s in the year.

Chandigarh’s Aadil Bedi, who also took a share of ninth place in Jamshedpur, finished second in the Emerging Player list with season’s earnings of Rs. 21,84,500. He was 10^th in the PGTI’s money list.

Also read: Kapil’s sizzling 10-under sets Tour Championship pace at Golmuri