Kolkata:

Rashid Khan claimed number one position on the 2013 Rolex Rankings, the PGTI Order of Merit, after finishing sixth at the McLeod Russel Tour Championship at the RCGC on Sunday.

Last year`s runner-up, Rashid earned sixth place at eight-under-280 to end up in number one position in the PGTI Order of Merit for 2013.

The Delhi lad, who posted 10 top-10s including two wins in 2013, finished the year with earnings of Rs 46,38,284 to seal the title.

His tied eighth place finish in the Year-Ending championship meant S Chikkarangappa of Bangalore was second on the Order of Merit with earnings of Rs 32,65,313.

“It`s been a highly satisfying year for me. I won two events and was in contention in a number of events,” a delighted Rashid said.

“Importantly, I`ve improved on last year when I finished second in the rankings. This is a huge boost for me as I`ll be playing as a full-card holder on the Asian Tour next year.”

Fondly called `Chikka`, who had one win and nine other top-10s in the season, also won the Emerging Player of the Year race as he recorded the maximum earnings among all the rookies in the 2013 season.

“When I began the year my target was a top-10 finish on the Order of Merit… But as the year progressed, I thought I had a realistic chance of finishing in the top-3 for the season.

“I`m delighted that I managed to finish second on the rankings and win the Emerging Player race as well. The rookies were very strong this year and coming out on top among the rookies is special.

“My putting was the highlight of the season. I really started putting well midway through the year when I started using a new putter,” Chikkarangappa said.

Angad Cheema of Panchkula ended up in second position in the Emerging Player of the Year race with earnings of Rs 26,50,448.

Order of Merit: 

1 Rashid Khan (Del; Rs 46,38,284);   2   S Chikkarangappa (Ban; Rs 32,65,313);    3   Angad Cheema(Panchkula; 26,50,448);   4    Shamim Khan (Del; Rs 26,08,508);       5 Mukesh Kumar (Mhow; 22,59,917);      6   Chiragh Kumar (Del; 21,30,135);       7 Mohammad Zamal Hossain Mollah (Bangladesh; 19,06,180);      8   M Dharma (Ban; 18,21,539);      9   Shankar Das (Kol; 16,41,278);    Abhijit Singh (Chandi; 15,11,702).