Jamshedpur, Dec 22 (PTI) Gurugram golfer Veer Ahlawat covered himself with glory by securing a playoff victory against Amardeep Malik after firing a brilliant seven-under 64 to clinch the season-ending Tata Steel Tour Championship 2024 title here on Sunday.

The 28-year-old Ahlawat (67-68-68-64), who had already sealed the No. 1 spot in the Tata Steel PGTI Ranking before the final event of the 2024 PGTI season, prevailed over Malik (67-64-71-65) on the second playoff hole after the players were tied in first position at 17-under 267 at the end of the regulation 72 holes.

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Sri Lankan N Thangaraja (67) came in third at 16-under 268, while Chandigarh's Yuvraj Sandhu (67) and two-time Tour Championship winner Udayan Mane (70) of Pune finished tied fourth at 14-under 270.

Two-time Tour Championship winner Gaganjeet Bhullar (69) took ninth place at 10-under 274.

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Ahlawat picked up the winning cheque of Rs 45 lakh to take his season's earnings to Rs 1,56,35,724, thus smashing the previous record of Rs 1,18,26,059 set by Om Prakash Chouhan in 2023.

The towering Ahlawat, who hails from DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurugram, has won two titles and posted seven top-10 finishes this season.

He was the runner-up at the Indian Open, an event co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour.

Ahlawat thus became the second player after Chouhan to breach the Rs one-crore mark in season's earnings on the PGTI.

As a result of his Order of Merit triumph, he has now earned himself a card on the DP World Tour for the 2025 season.

Bengaluru-based Rahil Gangjee finished a distant second on the PGTI Ranking with season's earnings of Rs 69,21,582. Rahil secured eighth place here as he totalled 11-under 273.

Ahlawat, who was overnight tied sixth and four shots off the lead, came out firing on all cylinders on the front-nine, picking up an eagle and two birdies before the turn, as he landed it within four feet on two occasions and also sank a 20-footer. After a bogey on the 11th, he got his game back on track with four birdies, not leaving himself anything longer than 10 feet on the greens.

Malik, who had a bogey-free round, was leader for a major part of the day thanks to his five birdies on the front-nine. The golfer, a two-time winner on the PGTI, slowed down on the back-nine where he managed just one birdie. However, he kept the errors out.

When the playoff began on the 18th hole, Malik enjoyed the better playoff record having won one out of two encounters while Ahlawat had lost both his previous playoffs. On the first playoff hole, Malik had a heart-breaking lip-out from 20 feet that could've sealed a birdie and perhaps the match for him.

On the second extra hole, Malik hit it over the green and missed the chip-putt for par while Ahlawat continued to play steady and made the decisive par to lift his fourth professional trophy. Malik's runner-up finish earned him Rs 30 lakh and propelled him from 23rd to sixth place in the PGTI Order of Merit.

"At the start of the round, I knew I had to go really low. So, I was looking to score on all the Par-5s and the short Par-4s. I had also been hitting my wedges well from the fairways all week. That added to my confidence. I had worked a lot on my wedge play and that paid off today," said Ahlawat.

"In the playoff, I used one of my favoured clubs, the gap wedge, to perfection. I also felt I had an advantage in the playoff because the 18th hole suited my game since I hit a lot of fades and the 18th is tailor-made for the fade shot," he added.

"It's been a great season for me and I'm very happy about my consistent showing. Winning the PGTI Order of Merit was a major goal and I'm delighted to have achieved that. I'm now eagerly looking forward to playing on the DP World Tour in 2025. I'm working on a few things to prepare myself well for the different conditions in Europe."

Meanwhile, 21-tear-old rookie Shaurya Bhattacharya of Delhi won the PGTI Emerging Player of the Year title with season's earnings of Rs 23,14,017, the highest among the rookies.

Shaurya, who finished tied 45th at three-over 287 at the season-ending event, secured a creditable 28th position on the PGTI Order of Merit as a result of his win and four other top-20s in the season.

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