Om Prakash Chouhan emerges champion

Report by Anant Datla, Senior Editor, GolfingIndian.com

July 5, 2014: Om PrakashChouhan recovered from a mild stutter to post a 67 in the final round of the PGTI Pahalgam Masters to clinch the title with a two stroke advantage over Khalin Joshi. Shubhankar Sharma and ArshdeepTiwana, both posted 67s to finish T3 at 16 under. The tournament, the first PGTI event in Pahalgam in over a decade, was an unqualified success.

Chouhan made a confident start – three birdies helping him get through the front nine in 32 shots. The golfer from Mhow recorded his first victory of the season despite suffering a mild stutter – bogeys at 11 & 14 dropped him to 17 under. But he recovered quickly to undo the damage with birdies at the 16th and 18th to finish the tournament with a grand flourish.

Joshi endured a bogey each on either side of his journey to the clubhouse but seven birdies enabled him sign off with 65 that propelled him into a second place finish. Sharma and Tiwana were also in contention for much of the day, but failed to push ahead and create any serious threat to the frontrunners.

Kunal Bhasin was the best international – the Aussie made a 66 to enter a four way tie with Ranjit Singh, K Prabagaran, AnuraRohana and N Thangaraja. Those last three men were also internationals – from Sri Lanka. Pawan Verma, who got off to a rousing 62, settled for a five way tie in 22nd after his third straight 70 left him 8-under for the tournament.

Chouhan earned `4,84,950 for his well-earned victory, placing him fourth on the PGTI Order of Merit. The victory in Pahalgam helped Chouhan pass the million mark in earnings this season. Joshi received a big boost to his fortunes – the cheque for `3,34,950 helping him break into the top 20 on the PGTI list.

Shubhankar Sharma, second on the PGTI Order of Merit, earned `1,69,950 the same as ArshdeepTiwana, who lies 26th on the list. MithunPerera is third and Prabagaran is fifth – the only internationals inside the top 10 at this time.

Reporting by Anand Datla

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