CHANDIGARH, June 1:
Local favourite Harendra Gupta shot a sedate one-over 73 in round four to win the PGTI Players Championship at the Chandigarh Golf Club here today.
Harendra totaled 10-over 278 for the tournament. Vijay Kumar of Lucknow and Delhi’s Shamim Khan were joint second at nine-under 279.
Harendra, the overnight leader by three strokes, stayed ahead of the rest by making a birdie and eight pars on the front-nine. He sank an 18-foot putt to birdie the sixth. The 28-year-old dropped his first bogey of the day when he missed a chip-putt on the 10th.
However, he continued to be in a commanding position as his nearest rivals Rashid Khan and Shankar Das went out of contention after dropping three strokes and two strokes respectively on the front-nine.
Harendra seemed to have sealed it when he made a birdie, thanks to a good chip-putt on the 13th. However, a poor tee-shot on the 15th resulted in a double-bogey for the local favourite.
Vijay and Shamim were just one shot behind him at that stage. Harendra then held his nerve and made three pars in a row even as Vijay and Shamim failed to pick up a stroke on the last four holes.
“My tee shots were very good today but I struggled with my short-game. I tried to play a little safe today and consciously decided not to play an aggressive game. Even after making double-bogey on the 15th, I knew pars on the last three holes will get me home,” said Harendra, who sealed his fifth professional title.
“This victory is of great significance to me since I have won a title after a four-year gap. It feels even better that I have won on my home course. This victory will certainly help me in taking my game to another level,” he added.
Chandigarh’s Angad Cheema, the lone amateur to make the cut, took away the trophy for the best performance by an amateur. (PTI)
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