Lucknow: Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow achieved a creditable come-from-behind victory at the PGTI Feeder Tour event at his home course, the Lucknow Golf Club, on Friday after he shot the tournament’s best score of four-under-66 in the third and final round.
Sanjay ended the tournament with a total score of four-under-206. Lucknow’s Vijay Kumar and Ramesh Kumar of Faridabad were the joint runners-up with identical totals of one-under-209.
Sanjay Kumar (69-71-66), who was placed third after round two, fired seven birdies against three bogeys in his final round to take the top honours. Sanjay, a winner on the PGTI in 2011, was on song from the very start as he birdied the first two holes after hitting his approach shots within five feet of the pin on both occasions. The 41-year-old snatched the lead with birdies on the fifth and sixth.
Sanjay then dropped a couple of strokes on the eighth and 10th but came roaring back by picking up birdies on the14th, 16th and 17th. The local favourite chipped-in on the 14th, landed it within a couple of inches on the 16th and sank a 20-footer on the 17th. His bogey on the 18th did not matter much as he sealed the title by three strokes.
Sanjay said, “I hit it very close through the day. My confidence soared after I birdied the first two holes. There was no looking back from there on. I thought I had sealed it when I made a terrific par save on the 15th where I had a tough lie in the bunker. It gives me great satisfaction to win after coming from behind on the last day. The course conditions were also tough as it was playing longer than usual due to the overnight rain. I did well to shoot a four-under in such conditions.”
Vijay Kumar (69-69-71) returned a 71 in the third round that featured three birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.
Ramesh Kumar (69-72-68) joined Vijay in joint second place at one-under-209. Ramesh’s final round included four birdies and two bogeys.
Md Islam (73-71-67) of Patna finished fourth with a total of one-over-211.
Aditya Raj Kumar Chauhan of Delhi continues to lead the 2012 PGTI Feeder Tour Order of Merit with earnings of Rs. 1,08,490 for the year so far.
By Indian Sports News Network
