Abhinav Lohan Secures One-shot Win at Bengaluru Open

Bengaluru, Dec 20 (PTI) Faridabad-based Abhinav Lohan recorded his breakthrough win on the PGTI, securing a narrow one-shot triumph at the Bengaluru Open golf championship here on Friday.

The 30-year-old Lohan, who plays at the DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurugram, shot four-under 68 to take his four-day total to 13-under-275 at the Rs. 40 lakh event played at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) course.

It was Lohan's first title on the TATA Steel PGTI and second win of the year as he had also emerged victorious at the PGTI Feeder Tour event in Lucknow two months back.

Chandigarh's Karandeep Kochhar (71) finished runner-up at 12-under-276 at the tournament which constituted the penultimate leg of the PGTI season.

Lohan had a memorable day at the KGA with seven birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey to show on his card.

"I'm just relieved to win on the main tour for the first time. It's my ninth season as a professional and I had come close to winning on quite a few occasions in the past. I then had a poor 2018 as I missed 10 cuts in a row and lost my PGTI card. So this victory is all the more sweet," Lohan said.

"I've had a very solid second half this season. I first won on the Feeder Tour which was a tense playoff victory and gave me the confidence and momentum to carry forward on to the main tour. I've also been in contention in Jaipur and Kolkata last week, finishing 11th and 10th respectively."

Lohan thus became the fourth Indian golfer to register his maiden title on the TATA Steel PGTI this season following the likes of Kshitij Naveed Kaul, Priyanshu Singh and Veer Ahlawat.

His victory and winner's cheque of Rs. 6,46,600 pushed him up from 43rd to 19th in the PGTI Rankings.

The Bengaluru duo of M Dharma, who shot the day's best round of 67, and Rahil Gangjee (71) took third and fourth places with totals of 11-under-277 and 10-under-278 respectively.

Eighteen-year-old local amateur Akshay Niranjan (70), playing only his second professional event, took a creditable tied fifth place at nine-under-279 along with Om Prakash Chouhan (69) of Mhow.

Gurugram-based Veer Ahlawat, the highest-ranked player in the field, being third in the PGTI Order of Merit, was tied 17th at two-under-286.

Bengaluru-based Aryan Roopa Anand, the second amateur to make the cut, was placed tied 39th at four-over-292. PTI

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