Karandeep Kochhar lifts Gujarat Open Golf trophy

Ahmedabad, Feb 25 (IANS) Carrying his rich vein of form from last season, Karandeep Kochhar lifted the Gujarat Open Golf title at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens Golf Club, here on Friday.

Chandigarh-based Karandeep (64-75-69-70), who was overnight tied fourth and two off the lead, came from behind with a steady two-under 70 on day four to sign off with a 10-under 278 total and wrap up his fourth title at the Rs. 40 lakh event.

Arjun Prasad (73-65-70-71), who like his good friend Kochhar was also overnight tied fourth, came within striking range of his maiden title before narrowly missing out. The Delhi golfer totaled nine-under 279 following a final round of 71 to secure his second runner-up finish on the PGTI.

Ranjit Singh of Chandigarh, the joint overnight leader, submitted a card of 74 to claim third place at eight-under 280. Bengaluru's M Dharma and Kapil Kumar of Delhi, the other two joint leaders after round three, shot scores of 75 to end the week in tied fourth place at seven-under 281.

Twenty-two-year-old Karandeep Kochhar, who secured second place on the PGTI Order of Merit last year courtesy his two wins, made a slow start with two birdies and two bogeys on the front-nine as his approach shot on the eighth was the highlight having landed within six feet to set up a birdie.

The six-feet tall Karandeep kept himself in contention with birdies from tough spots on the 12th and 14th, both par-5s. The 15th was probably the turning point for Kochhar as he again got out of trouble with a chip-in for birdie even as his nearest rival and playing partner Arjun Prasad, fresh from a run of four birdies between the 10th and 14th, missed a 12-footer for birdie.

Twenty-three-year-old Arjun, who has grown up playing alongside Karandeep before both turned professional in the same season in 2017, missed a short three-feet putt for par on the 18th that could've taken the match into a playoff. Kochhar also dropped a bogey on the closing hole but held on to his one-shot advantage to emerge the winner.

After winning the trophy Kochhar said, "Nothing can be better than starting a season with a win. Winning here at Kalhaar proves to me that my hitting is right up there since this course always requires good ball-striking. I put in a lot of work with my coach before the season when he asked me to trust my swing. All that work seems to be paying off now."

"After a slow start to the day, I knew I was still in it as there were a couple of par-5s on the back-nine to capitalize on. I managed to score on those par-5s and added another birdie with a chip-in on the 15th that further lifted my confidence," he added.