Bangalore: Two-time Asian Tour winner golfer Rahil Gangjee carded a stunning 7-under 63 for an overall score of 11-under 269 to win the USD 75000 Louis Philippe Cup by three strokes here Friday.
Beginning the final day of the Asian Development Tour and PGTI co-sanctioned event in tied fifth and four shots behind overnight leaders Udayan Mane and Rashid Khan, the Bangalore based Rahil dished out a superlative performance to pocket the USD 13,125 winner’s cheque.
His 63 on the day was also a course record which was created by Mane and Argentine Miguel Carballo on the first day of the competition. This was Rahil’s second title of the year after winning the Panasonic Open Golf Championship in Ibaraki, Japan. This was his third win on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). He also collected six world ranking points in the process and is currently ranked fifth on the Habitat for Humanity Asian Tour Order of Merit with total earnings of USD 290,426.
“The first day of the tournament was rusty for me and I had said I needed some practice. The second round was exactly that practice which I was longing for. The third round gave me the much-needed boost. Today when I started I honestly did not have much of plan in mind,” said Rahil.
Explaining his performance today, Gangjee said, “I shot eight birdies starting from hole No. 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 13, 14 and 18. Hole No.12 was what I consider my turning point in the game. I used a driver to hit to the mud on the green and missed a 10 feet putt to birdie.
Overnight leader Rashid Khan finished joint second with PGTI regular Om Prakash Chouhan with an overall score of eight-under 272. After being in contention for most of the day, Rashid muffed his chances on the back nine, registering bogies on the 11th, 13th and the tricky 16th hole to finish the day at 1-over. Rashid pocketed a cheque of USD 6937.5 along with Mhow’s Om Prakash Chouhan who shot a four-under 66 on the day.
The other overnight leader Udayan Mane, shot his first over par round of the competition, the 11th and 16th holes also turning out to be his nemesis along with the 12th to finish in tied fourth place. Three-time Asian tour winner, Australia’s Marcus Both gave Udayan company with three-under 67 finish. Both collected cheques of USD 3750 each.
