PGTI Players Championship: In-form Yuvraj Singh Sandhu wins title on home turf

Chandigarh, April 15 (IANS) Chandigarh's Yuvraj Singh Sandhu continued his red-hot form with his third win in five months at the Rs. 50 lakh PGTI Players Championship 2022 at the Chandigarh Golf Club here on Friday.

Sandhu (70-67-65-69), playing at his home course, shot a resolute three-under 69 in the final round for a one-stroke victory at 17-under 271. The 25-year-old Sandhu, who bagged his second win of the 2022 season and pocketed a cheque worth Rs. 8,08,250, consolidated his position in the PGTI Order of Merit despite continuing to be ranked second.

Bangladesh's Md Zamal Hossain Mollah (67-66-69-70), the joint overnight leader along with Sandhu, missed a 15-feet birdie putt by a whisker on the final hole and thus lost the opportunity to take the match into a playoff. Mollah's last round 70 saw him claim the runner-up position at 16-under 272.

Karandeep Kochhar, another Chandigarh golfer, fired a spectacular 65 in round four, the day's best score, to secure third place at 15-under 273.

Mollah enjoyed a slim one-stroke lead early in the day till there was a two-shot swing in favour of Sandhu on the par-3 eighth that helped the latter move into a one-shot lead.

On the back-nine, Sandhu's putter stayed hot as he continued to drain putts from a range of 10 to 15 feet to push ahead with birdies on the 11th and 12th even as Mollah's form with the driver seemed to have deserted him with no birdies in sight for the Dhaka-based golfer.

There was another twist in the tale on the 17th, 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.

Sandhu finally sealed it after playing a quality chip to set up a tap-in for par on the 18th but not before surviving a scare from Mollah, who narrowly missed a 15-feet birdie conversion on the same hole that could've taken the match into a playoff.

Sandhu, who won his third career title, said, "It was about staying patient from the very outset. 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," he was quoted as saying by the PGTI in a release.

Karandeep Kochhar's error-free effort of 65 featured five consecutive birdies from the ninth to the 13th where he sank a 60 feet putt and struck some fine iron shots to leave himself tap-ins on a couple of occasions.

Kartik Sharma (72) of Gurugram finished fourth at 13-under 275. Angad Cheema and Ranjit Singh were the other two local golfers who finished inside the top-10. Angad was tied fifth at 11-under 277 while Ranjit ended tied eighth at eight-under 280.