New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu registered a thumping five-shot win after returning a confident one-under 71 in the last round of the INR 2 crore Vishwa Samudra Open 2024 played at the historic Delhi Golf Club (DGC). Sandhu (69-67-69-71) totalled 12-under 276 for the week and took home an impressive prize money cheque of INR 30 lakh for his effort. It happened to be Sandhu’s first win in five years and overall seventh professional title. It was also Sandhu’s first triumph at the celebrated DGC.
Bangladesh’s Jamal Hossain (67-73-67-74) finished a distant second at seven-under 281 after he delivered a 74 in the final round. Jamal’s runner-up finish earned him a prize money cheque worth INR 20 lakh that lifted him 11 spots from 17th to sixth position in the PGTI Ranking. International winner Sandhu, who was the overnight leader by a narrow margin of two shots, negotiated the windiest day of the week and tricky pin positions with distinction finding most of the fairways and greens on Friday.
The 36-year-old Sandhu, who came very close to winning at the DGC on a couple of occasions in the past, made no mistake this time around as he made a solitary birdie on the 14th from six feet and backed that up with pars on the rest of the 17 holes. Sandhu, who was followed on the course by his wife and leading Indian lady professional Tvesa Malik, also made a couple of good par saves with quality chip putts on the ninth and 13th that helped keep his card clean. He recovered well from a bad lie on the ninth.
Sandhu said, “I was not expecting it to be so windy today, so my game plan changed throughout the day. As it was a tough day with the greens firming up, the focus was on executing well and hitting all fairways and greens. Once you’re leading here at DGC you have to put your head down and grind it out. I got lucky with the weather as I didn’t have to push too much as the others had to do all the hard work to catch up with me.
“I did not have many birdie chances because the flags were tucked in. But I felt good about my game after hitting a few nice shots in the wind. I knew if I made par on the 13th from a tough position then the birdie opportunities would open up for me thereafter. That’s exactly what happened with the birdie on the 14th. That was a crucial point in the day,” he said.
“It’s very special to win here at the DGC, one of the best golfing venues in the country with so much history. I’ve seen the greats of Indian golf win here, so I too wanted to win here. It’s one of my favourite courses. It’s been a tough year on the international stage for me. It’s the tough times when you rely on people who are close to you and I’m fortunate that those close to me understand the highs and lows of the game. I thank my family for their support,” said Sandhu.
Jamal Hossain kept pace with Sandhu till the fifth making pars all the way. However, Jamal’s double-bogey on the sixth where his approach shot found the bushes, saw him concede a four-shot lead to Sandhu. Hossain was unable to bridge the gap thereafter as he could only manage two birdies and two bogeys.
Yuvraj Sandhu of Chandigarh, the only player other than Sandhu to shoot four sub-par rounds during the week, finished third at five-under 283 as a result of his fourth round of 70. Rashid Khan and M. Dharma were tied for fourth place at four-under 284 while SSP Chawrasia finished sixth at one-under 287. Local lad Sachin Baisoya fired the last day’s best score of 67 to end tied seventh at even-par 288 along with Yashas Chandra.
–IANS
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