By Rahul Banerji
Yuvraj Singh Sandhu parleyed red-hot form into a third win in five months at the Rs. 50 lakh Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship at the Chandigarh Golf Club on Friday.
Much to the delight of his home crowd, Yuvraj shot a resolute 3-under 69 in the final round for a one-stroke victory on 17-under 271.
The 25-year-old bagged his second win of the 2022 season and a prize money cheque worth Rs. 8,08,250 to consolidate his second place in the Order of Merit, the PGTI said.
Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah (67-66-69-70), joint overnight leader along with Yuvraj, narrowly missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole and the chance to take the match into a playoff.
Zamal’s last round 70 saw him claim the runner-up position on 16-under 272.
Defending champion Karandeep Kochhar, another Chandigarh lad, fired a spectacular 65, the day’s best score, to secure third place on 15-under 273.
Midway swing
Mollah enjoyed a one-stroke lead till a two-shot swing in favour of Yuvraj (70-67-65-69) on the par-3 eighth that helped the latter move into a one-shot lead.
On the back nine, Yuvraj’s putter stayed hot as he continued to drain putts from a range of 10 to 15 feet.
He pushed ahead with birdies on 11 and 12 even as Zamal’s form with the driver deserted him with no birdies for the Dhaka-based golfer.
There was another twist on 17, this time a two-shot swing in favour of Mollah as he birdied from four feet while Sandhu found the trees and the bunker to concede a shot.
Yuvraj finally saw it home after playing a quality chip to set up a tap-in for par on 18 but not before surviving a scare.
Zamal narrowly missed a 15-foot birdie conversion on the hole that could have taken the match into a playoff.
Yuvraj, who won his third career title, said, “It was about staying patient from the very outset.
Critical holes
“I knew the last four to five holes would be critical and I needed to stay patient on that stretch in particular.
“I had the confidence of playing at home in conditions that I know well. The home support and the presence of my parents and family also made me feel quite comfortable out there while competing.
“It’s special to win at my home course and in the presence of my parents for the first time.
“It’s been about putting my head down and working on my game and my fitness with my team day in and day out. That’s been the key to my consistency.
“It was an intense final day as I did not have a comfortable lead at any point. But I stuck to what has worked for me before.”
Kochhar’s error-free 65 featured five consecutive birdies from the ninth to the 13th where he sank a 60-foot putt and struck some fine iron shots to leave himself tap-ins on a couple of occasions.
Kartik Sharma (72) of Gurgaon finished fourth on 13-under 275.
Angad Cheema and Ranjit Singh were the other two Tricity golfers who finished inside the top-10.
Angad was tied fifth on 11-under 277 while Ranjit ended tied eighth on 8-under 280.
Also read: Yuvraj Sandhu, Mollah share Players C’ship lead after round three
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