26 February 2021: In one of the most measured final round performances in recent PGTI Tour history, Om Prakash Chouhan played with masterly control to secure a four stroke victory over Manu Gandas. Chouhan had a seven stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Gujarat Open and five after the third round. Yet the man from Mhow found himself stuttering at the end to concede victory to Chikkarangappa. On Friday, he put those lessons to good use, getting the bulk of his work done on the front nine, before coasting home to victory on nine straight pars. Gandas recovered from a miserable outing in the Gujarat Open turning things around in handsome fashion for a well deserved second place.
Chouhan steered eight clear of the field when Gandas made a double bogey on the par-4 10th hole. It would have needed a superhuman effort to catch him or yet another Jean Van de Velde meltdown, like the par-3 seventh hole at the Kalhaar Blues and Greens. A quadruple at the seventh sank Chouhan’s hopes in the Gujarat Open when he started the final round with a five-stroke margin. But Chouhan played with greater composure and control at the Glade One Resort, going about his business with impeccable calm. Gandas mounted a late challenge by producing four birdies on the home stretch, but it was too late to stall Chouhan’s steadfast march to a sixth PGTI Tour victory.
“I’m relieved to have won today especially after the disappointment of last week. I had told myself at the start of this event that I will not repeat the mistakes of last week. The previous week was one of the rare occasions when I played in the leader group during the final round and did not win.
“I have now won six times while playing in the leader group in round four. When I’m in a good position I generally don’t let the opportunity slip away. But that didn’t happen last week so that was a big lesson for me.
“I must thank Mr. Ragesh Vasa who is a leading amateur golfer here in Ahmedabad for all his inputs about this course. He played a round with me in Kalhaar after the tournament last week and helped me regain my confidence by giving me some vital tips on how to tackle the challenges posed by the Glade One Golf Resort course. He helped me on all kinds of information about the Glade One course including the layout, yardages, green speed and reading the line on the greens. He was motivating me through my round today.
“I would also like to thank my wife Sheetal who gave me a pep talk after I missed out on a win last week. It was my marriage anniversary on the 24th of February and she said her biggest gift would be my victory at Glade One.
“I attacked well at the start today and then tried to play some conservative golf on the back-nine and tried to avoid getting overconfident despite the big lead at the turn. I executed my pitching wedge shot from the bunker to perfection for the second day running. The yardage from there was somehow perfect for my shot as it was about 115 yards out and almost in the same spot as round three.”
If Gandas paid the price of two double bogeys in the final round, Chouhan reaped the rewards from an eagle on the eighth hole and three other birdies on the front nine. He took just 31 strokes to go past the ninth and never looked back. He secured victory playing some measured golf, posting a string a pars to end the week at 17-under 199. The Glade One Masters played to nine holes in the first two rounds before 18 each were played through the weekend. Victory earned Chouhan three points on the OWGR standings.
Gandas scored six birdies in the final round and should have run Chouhan closer but for the two doubles and a bogey at the par-3 fourth hole. But he will take plenty of confidence from securing a top ten finish for the fifth time in nine starts on the PGTI Tour. It is also his highest finish on the Tour since the second place finish in the Tata Open, 2017.
Veer Ahlawat and Abhinav Lohan reaped the rewards of a consistent run this week. The two men finished in a tie for third with Rashid Khan, who bounced back from a 40 in the opening round to climb up the order. A 33 followed by a 66 helped Rashid turn the tide after a recent run of disappointing performances left him losing ground in the race to remain at the top of rankings among Indian golfers. The golfer from Delhi was the top ranked Indian when coronavirus sent the country into a limbo. Udayan Mane is currently ranked 315 followed by Rashid is sitting in 326th. Chikkarangappa (345), Karandeep Kochhar (346) and Shubhankar Sharma (355) are all close on their heels.
Mane finished in T29 with the help of a final round 69. Chikkarangappa was the winner last week and took a top ten this week finishing in a tie for eighth with Kochhar and Khalin Joshi at 6-under 210. The three men rounded off the top ten.
