Om Prakash Chouhan prevails in close finish at Jaipur Open

JAIPUR, Sep 17: Om Prakash Chouhan lifted his seventh title after he prevailed with a narrow one-shot margin at the Jaipur Open golf here on Saturday.
The 36-year-old from Madhya Pradesh (67-66-65-64), lying second and two off the lead after round three, made the most of his excellent chipping and putting form this week as he signed the best card in the last round, a six-under 64, to finish on top at 18-under 262.
Chouhan bagged the winning cheque of Rs. 6,00,000 and moved up from 18th to eighth position in the PGTI Order of Merit.
Chandigarh’s Abhijit Singh Chadha (62-69-65-67), the overnight leader, struck a flawless 67 despite the putts not rolling in for him. He claimed the runner-up spot at 17-under 263 at the Rs. 40 lakh event.
Akshay Sharma (67), another Chandigarh golfer, secured third place at 13-under 267. Faridabad’s Abhinav Lohan (68) and Bangladesh’s Jamal Hossain (69) finished a further shot back in tied fourth position.
Local professional Girraj Singh Khadka was tied 29th at one-under 279. Jaipur’s Manoviraj Shekhawat, the only amateur to make the cut, finished 50th at 11-over 291.
Shekhawat won the trophy for the best performing amateur.
Chouhan took control early in the day when he picked up five birdies on the first eight holes to move into the sole lead. He made his sixth chip-in of the tournament on the seventh hole and set up the other birdies also as a result of good wedge-play.
He was in some sort of trouble when he made consecutive three-putts for bogeys on the ninth and 10th that saw him slip back into second place behind Abhijit.
However, the man from Mhow? who last won on the PGTI in February last year, got back to level terms with a birdie on the 12th.
His short-game came to his rescue once again when he made chip-putt birdies on the 17th and 18th to seal the win.
“My game had suffered because I had stopped using the lob wedge. My brother who caddied for me in Chennai advised me to get back to using the lob wedge as it had always been my strength.
“So I got back to my lob wedge this week and that contributed to my excellent chipping here in Jaipur,” Chouhan said. (PTI)