Chandigarh golfer Angad Cheema wins Kapil Dev Grant Thornton meet

Chandigarh golfer Angad Cheema dominated the final round with a 6-under 66 to win the Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational, at the Prestige Golfshire Club, in Bengaluru.

Cheema’s (66-64-66) sublime final round effort helped him total 20-under 196 for the 54-hole event as he clinched his fourth professional title and third win on the PGTI main tour by a two-stroke margin. The victory saw 35-year-old pick up a winning cheque worth Rs 30 lakh that propelled him from 28th position to 10th place in the PGTI Order of Merit. Bengaluru’s Khalin Joshi (65-67-66) carded a last round of 66 to finish runner-up with a total of 18-under 198. Faridabad’s Abhinav Lohan (66-65-70) finished third at 15-under 201 following his third round of 70.

Another local golfer, Yuvraj Sandhu finished tied fourth at 12-under 204 and as a result moved up from third to first position in the PGTI Order of Merit. PGTI Ranking leader Sandhu’s season earnings now read Rs 54, 67,300. On Saturday, Aman Raj matched the course record of 63 which was set earlier in the week by Gaurav Pratap Singh and Saptak Talwar. Aman finished tied-6th at 11-under 205. Pranavi Urs (71-65-72) had the best finish among the lady professionals as she ended the tournament in tied 18th place with a total of 8-under 208.

The final day

Cheema, the overnight leader by one shot, drove home the advantage while playing in the second session along with the amateurs on Saturday. He began his round from the 10th, bogeyed the 11th but only to pick three birdies on the back-nine including a 30-feet conversion.

Cheema made the front-nine count as he added four more birdies to his card including three conversions from a range of 10 to 20 feet. He also hit a great approach for a tap-in on the fourth.

“Playing alongside amateurs while competing for the main prize is always challenging and I feel that I handled that well. I was also fortunate to have very cooperative amateurs in my group. Fortunately, playing in the afternoon session, I had a number to aim at as Khalin had set the mark at 18-under after the morning session. That helped me plan my round. I putted really well through the week and made some clutch putts today. I felt comfortable after making the birdie putt on the seventh that gave me a two-shot cushion,” said Cheema.

The tournament combined the Professional Championship with a thrilling Pro-Am component, bringing together professionals and amateurs in a dynamic and engaging way.

The three-day, 54-hole championship featured 60 men and 12 women professionals competing for the same prize purse. The event also featured three Pro-Am rounds in a rotational format, with 48 professionals teeing off in the morning, while the remaining 24 paired up with 72 amateurs in the afternoon session.

Chandigarh