Manu Gandas claims maiden PGTI title at Golconda Masters

Manu Gandas claims maiden PGTI title at Golconda Masters

Manu Gandas played another splendid round of golf on the final day to grab his maiden professional trophy at the Golconda Masters Telangana Open 2021.

Gandas, who maintained the five-shot lead in the second and third round, shot two-under 64 in the final round to win the event by three strokes at the Hyderabad Golf Club.

The 25-year-old Gandas smashed four birdies and two bogeys to end up with a tournament tally of 22-under 250 and collected a cheque worth Rs. 6,46,600 to move up from eighth to fourth in the PGTI Order of Merit. His total earnings for the season now read Rs. 24,12,350.

The talented young golfer from Chandigarh Karandeep Kochhar (67-64-63-59), shot the day’s best score of seven-under 59 to jump three spots and finish runner-up at 19-under 253. The 22-year-old Kochhar has now further extended his lead in the PGTI Order of Merit as his season’s earnings stand at Rs. 42,95,130.

Karandeep Kochhar
Karandeep Kochhar

The heavy rain over the past three days resulted in waterlogging in certain parts of the HGA course. As a result, Hole No. 2 was reduced from Par-4 to Par-3, Hole No. 6 was reduced from Par-5 to Par-3, Hole No. 8 was reduced from Par-5 to Par-4, and Hole No. 18 was reduced from Par-4 to Par-3. Hole No. 3 was reverted back to its original Par-4. Therefore, the par for the course in round four was 66 instead of the regular 71.

“I feel relieved and happy to have finally won a title after coming close on a few occasions before. I’ve waited a long time for this. The way I was playing this season, I knew that a win was just around the corner, said Manu.

Karandeep, who continues as the PGTI Order of Merit leader, said, “I’m very proud of my effort as I didn’t get any practice in the ten days prior to this event because I was unwell. A runner-up finish in that context is special.”

Bengaluru’s Chikkarangappa (67-63-61-63), the 2019 winner, ended third at 18-under 254 following a final round score of three-under 63.

Khalin Joshi of Bengaluru (61) and Noida’s Amardeep Malik (65) claimed a tied-fourth place at 16-under 256.