JAMSHEDPUR, Dec 24: Star golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar lived up to his reputation, carding an error-free final round of six-under 66 to win by a solitary shot at the season-ending TATA Steel Tour Championship here on Sunday.
Bhullar (64-66-67-66), who won the championship for the second time following his previous victory in 2020, totalled 25-under 263 for the week to bag Rs 45 lakh.
Bhullar improved upon his 24-under 264 from the 2020 edition at the Beldih and Golmuri Golf courses.
Rahil Gangjee (70-62-65-67) finished runner-up at 24-under 264 after firing a 67 in the last round.
The Bengaluru-based Gangjee’s prize money cheque of Rs 30 lakh moved him up 26 spots on the PGTI Order of Merit as he ended the year in sixth place.
Chandigarh’s Angad Cheema (66-66-65-68) had a creditable third place finish at 23-under 265.
Cheema gained four spots on the money list to end the year in fifth place.
Om Prakash Chouhan (72-68-65-68) of Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, took the coveted No. 1 spot in the TATA Steel PGTI Ranking (PGTI Order of Merit) after finishing tied 10th at 15-under 273 at the Tour Championship this week.
The 37-year-old Chouhan closed the 2023 season with record earnings of Rs 1,18,26,059, the highest ever for a PGTI season, to finish number one in the money list by a fair distance.
Chouhan, who is attached with the Kalhaar Blues & Greens golf course in Ahmedabad, broke the previous record of most season earnings of Rs 88,50,688, set by Manu Gandas in 2022.
Chouhan won four titles and posted eight other top-10s this season. He thus became the first player to breach the Rs 1 crore mark earning in a single season on the PGTI.
As a result of his Order of Merit triumph, Chouhan has now earned himself a card on the DP World Tour for the 2024 season.
Patna’s Aman Raj finished second on the PGTI Ranking with season’s earning of Rs 91,90,745.
Aman took the tied seventh place at 16-under 272 in Jamshedpur.
All four rounds of the event saw one half of the field play their first nine holes at Golmuri Golf Course and second nine at Beldih Golf Course while the other half of the field played Beldih first followed by Golmuri.
The par for the round was 72. The leading groups started at Golmuri and finished at Beldih.
Bhullar’s 12th PGTI win came as a result of an eagle and four birdies on Sunday.
Bhullar accumulated three birdies on the front-nine with two up and downs and a brilliant tee shot on the par-3 seventh that landed one foot from the hole.
The 35-year-old Bhullar, who hails from Kapurthala in Punjab, further strengthened his claim to the title after finding the par-5 12th green in two shots that set up an eagle conversion for him.
Bhullar’s final birdie came on the 15th where he landed his approach to four feet.
“I was focused on winning and was solid today from tee to green. It was all about repeating what I had done in the previous three rounds. I executed my plans well today and played some great iron and wedge shots,” said Bhullar.
“The two-shot swing in my favour on the 14th and 15th holes was probably the turning point today. I would like to thank TATA Steel for this fabulous season-ending event.” (PTI)
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