Chandigarh, May 31, 2008: Chandigarh lad Harendra Gupta delighted the home crowd when he upstaged the two giants of Indian professional golf, Ashok Kumar and Mukesh Kumar in a playoff at the PGTI Players Championship at Chandigarh Golf Club. This was Harendra Gupta’s third professional win and first triumph on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). Gupta, Ashok and Mukesh were involved in a playoff after the trio finished with a total of eleven under 277 at the end of the regulation 72 holes. Gupta went on to win on the third playoff hole as Mukesh dropped out after making a bogey on the first and then Ashok bogeyed the third. The playoff was played on the 18th hole.Harendra Gupta (70, 69, 71, 67) was placed sixth after round three but he made an incredible charge on the final day with a five under 67, the best score of the final round along with Gurbaaz Mann and Gaganjeet Bhullar, to win his first professional title in two years. The soft-spoken golfer gradually made his way up the leaderboard in round four with birdies on the second, sixth, ninth, 11th and an eagle on the 13th. He was in the sole lead after the 13th but then slipped back into the joint lead along with Mukesh and Ashok due to a bogey on the 15th.
“When I sank an eagle on the par five 13th with the help of an 18 feet putt, I felt I had a very good opportunity to win even though I did not know that I had taken the lead at that point. However, a bad chip shot on the 15th led to a bogey that in turn made me slip back into joint first. In the playoff, I decided to play safe and not attack too much. This move paid-off as I made pars all the way till the third playoff hole even as Mukesh and Ashok dropped bogeys on the first and third respectively,” said an ecstatic Harendra Gupta.
He added, “Victory at the PGTI Players Championship is special for me because I recovered very well after being three strokes off the lead at the end of the third round. This win has also raised my confidence besides improving my position in the PGTI Order of Merit. As India has started hosting many international tournaments it is imperative to maintain a high rank on the Order of Merit as that provides a player the opportunity to play those big events.” Gupta has now climbed from eighth to fifth on the 2007-08 PGTI Order of Merit.
Ashok Kumar’s tied second finish at the PGTI Players Championship was his best in the 2007-08 PGTI season. Ashok (70, 67, 71, 69) looked like a man on a mission when he teed-off on Saturday. He headed into the playoff after sinking birdies on the second, seventh, 11th, 13th, 16th and dropping bogeys on the fourth and 15th for a three under 69. But nerves got the better of the Delhi golfer on the third playoff hole when he missed a three feet putt for par that handed Gupta the title and a cheque of Rs. 4,84,950.
Ashok said, “I was disappointed to miss a sitter on the third playoff hole after having maintained the intensity throughout the day. Nevertheless, I am very pleased as this is my best performance of the current PGTI season.” He went on to add, “At the start of the day I was looking to shoot a score of six to seven under and was in an aggressive frame of mind. But Harendra played really well and maintained his composure to win the playoff.”
Mukesh Kumar (69, 66, 72, 70) also joined Ashok in tied second place. Mukesh’s campaign ended when his approach shot on the first playoff hole landed in the water hazard. However, his runners-up finish helped him climb to first position on the PGTI Order of Merit. The professional from Mhow now has total earnings of Rs. 15,46,675 in the current PGTI season. Earlier in the day the triple winner on the PGTI had made birdies on the second, fourth, 13th and a bogey on the fifth.
Vijay Kumar (69, 70, 70, 71) finished fourth with an overall score of eight under 280. Gurbaaz Mann, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Ranjit Singh were tied fifth at seven under 281.
Gaurav Ghei slipped on the final day to finish eighth at six under 282.
Harmeet Kahlon (two under 286) was tied 11th while Arjun Singh (one under 287) finished tied 14th.
Rahul Ganapathy’s total of even par 288 ensured him tied 15th while Digvijay Singh was tied 25th at four over 292.