Kolkata, February 11, 2011: Anirban Lahiri walked away with the honours on the final day of the Aircel PGTI Players Championship presented by Tollygunge Club after he burnt the course with an outstanding six under 64. The eloquent Bangalorean finished with a total of 18 under 262 at the Rs. 4 million event to equal Mukesh Kumar’s course record for four rounds.
Jyoti Randhawa and Rashid Khan finished a distant tied second with identical totals of 10 under 270.
Anirban Lahiri’s (68-65-65-64) sixth professional victory on Friday made him richer by Rs. 646,600 and propelled him from 12th position to second place on the Rolex Rankings 2011.
Lahiri, the overnight leader by three strokes, built on his lead as he came out all guns blazing on the front nine on Friday. He converted putts from 10 and 15 feet for birdies on the fourth and fifth respectively. The Asian Tour regular then picked up an eagle on the seventh thanks to a seven-iron approach shot that ended up six feet from the flag.
Anirban further increased the gap between himself and the rest of the field by knocking-in another birdie on the 10th. A brilliant sand-wedge second shot then set up Lahiri’s final birdie of the day on the 12th. The 23-year-old made pars on the last six holes to seal a memorable eight-stroke win.
Lahiri said, “I posted good scores on all four days and I had some rhythm going in my putting through the week. My hitting was the best in the final round. I hit a lot of greens and didn’t have to scramble much. I was a little rusty after a break till last week but now I seem to be back in my groove.
“This win serves as a great boost for the rest of the season. It gives me a lot of momentum going forward.”
Jyoti Randhawa’s (64-69-69-68) two under 68 on Friday featured six birdies and two bogeys. The Gurgaon-based Indian star was the joint runner-up along with Delhi’s Rashid Khan (64-64-73-69) who posted a 69 in round four. Rashid’s final round included four birdies and three bogeys.
Kolkata’s Rahil Gangjee (nine under 271) finished one stroke behind Randhawa and Rashid in fourth position.
Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka, Mukesh Kumar of Mhow and Delhi’s Vinod Kumar shared fifth place at eight under 272.
Gaganjeet Bhullar secured eighth place as he totaled seven under 273. He continues to lead the Rolex Rankings 2011.
Vivek Bhandari of Delhi, who finished in tied 10th with a total of five under 275, fired a hole-in-one on the second hole during the final round. Bhandari shot a 68 in round four.
SSP Chowrasia of Kolkata posted a fabulous bogey-free 64 in the fourth round to claim a share of 17th place. He ended the week with an overall score of one under 279.