NEW DELHI :

Mumbai:

Delhi’s Shamim Khan upset all calculations to win the ₹1 crore CG Open at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club (BPGC) on Saturday. The 38-year-old professional of 21 years sank a 35-foot putt for a birdie to finish the tournament deciding day with an unblemished eight-under-62 and an overall 19-under-261, the lowest score for a four-round competition at this course.

The previous best was Jyoti Randhawa’s 18-under-261 in 2011. Khan has also taken the lead in the Rolex Ranking.

Bengaluru’s Khalin Joshi with a final-round card of 65 ended the tournament with an overall 18-under-262 to finish runner-up. Khan won ₹15 lakhs and Joshi ₹10 lakhs.

Khan, trailing by two points at the conclusion of the third round, struck putting form in the second and fourth holes and again in the 10th, 11th and 12th on the back nine to become joint leader with Joshi and Kapil Kumar.

A jubilant Khan said: “It’s been an incredible week. I dropped just three bogeys in the whole tournament. I had lost my touch with the long range putts in the last few months, but it came back at the CG Open. I made three 15-footers today and two putts from 30 to 35 feet. That made all the difference.

“I knew I was in the race once I made three consecutive birdies on the 10th, 11th and 12th. But I decided not to check the leader-board till the 17th. That worked for me.

“Once I saw I was two ahead after the 17th, I went for the birdie on the 18th. It’s great to win after so long. I owe a lot to my caddie ‘Gullu’ for this win. He was a great support. My ball-striking was also terrific through the week. I’m now looking to winning my second Rolex Player of the year title after 2012.”

Leading scores (72 holes): 261: Shamim Khan (67, 66, 66, 62), 262: Khalin Joshi (67, 67, 63, 65), 265: Kapil Kumar (64, 67, 67, 67).

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sports / by Special Correspondent / November 26th, 2016