Veer Ahlawat receives his winner’s trophy from Rajesh Srivastava of Nissan Motor India at the Noida Golf Course on Saturday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Veer Ahlawat was made to work for victory over the closing stretch of the Nissan Delhi-NCR Open by DLF stablemate Manu Gandas at the Noida Golf Course on Saturday.
The lanky Ahlawat, runner-up at the Indian Open late last month, shot a bogey-free 6 under 66 to emerge winner by a stroke from Gandas in the Rs 1 crore event as the final day battle continued till the final hole, the PGTI said.
Yashas Chandra M.S. held the lead briefly before falling behind the all-DLF battle between the eventual winner and runner-up. The Mysore golfer, who is yet to record a win finished a creditable third, two strokes behind Gandas.
Ahlawat (68-67-70-66) aggregated 17 under 271 for his third professional title and a winner’s cheque of Rs 15 lakh to extend his lead in the Tata Steel PGTI Ranking. His earnings now stand at Rs 86,82,267, almost Rs 38 lakh more than nearest rival Gandas.
A former winner at the event, Gandas (68-69-66-69) eventually signed off with a final round of 69 to total 16-under 272. The Rs 10 lakh runners-up cheque, however, was enough to take Gandas from third to second on the PGTI’s merit list.
Flying start
Overnight third, Ahlawat made a confident birdie-eagle start with his long and accurate hitting. The eagle two on the second hole came after he found the fringe of the par-4 green with his drive and then chipped in.
Ahlawat collected three more birdies on holes 8, 10 and 14 and further opportunities on 16 and 17 where his putts just missed the target.
The winner had a stroke of luck when his drive on 18t bounced out of the hazard and ended up off the fairway but just 50 yards from the flag.
He then landed it 15 feet from the flag before making a two-putt for victory even as Gandas missed an up and down from the bunker to drop a stroke for the final result.
“I had a really solid day as far as my tee shots, hitting and putting are concerned,” Ahlawat said later.
“Even though it wasn’t the best of days with the wedges. I enjoyed a great start with birdie-eagle on the first two holes. That chip-in for eagle on the second set up the day for me.
“I came into the tournament high on confidence thanks to my runner-up finish in a strong field at the Indian Open two weeks back. I just focused on my game today even while it was close on the back nine and kept hitting fairways and greens.
“I wasn’t really in danger of dropping a bogey at any point.”
Solid support
The newly-married Ahlawat added, “It was great to have my parents and my wife come out to support me today.
“My wife has been walking all 18 holes with me in recent events and I feel she has been my good luck charm. My mother saw me win for the first time today, so that was quite an emotional moment for me.
“My caddie this week was my friend Rajbir. My regular caddie wasn’t feeling well so Rajbir asked me if he could step in and helped me to stay calm as he talks a lot on the course.
“After missing the birdie putt on 17, I got a little tense but Rajbir talked me out of it.”
Gandas, the overnight leader by one shot, was level par through the front nine on Saturday but emerged as a prime contender for the title with four birdies between holes 11 and 17 that put him in the joint lead. His challenge ended with the bogey on 18.
Yashas Chandra (70), overnight second and one off the lead, raised hopes of a maiden title with four birdies on the front nine. But three bogeys coming against one gained stroke on the back-nine ended his title hopes and saw him finish third on 14-under 274.
Rashid Khan who now makes the NGC his home course was tied for sixth on 9 under 279 while defending champion Gaurav Pratap Singh was tied 15th on 4-under 284.
Final top five
271: Veer Ahlawat (68-67-70-66)
272: Manu Gandas (68-69-66-69)
274: Yashas Chandra M S (71-64-69-70)
276: Ajeetesh Sandhu (75-65-68-68)
278: Angad Cheema (68-67-71-72)
Also read: Manu Gandas holds sole lead at Nissan Delhi-NCR Open
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