Manu Gandas sealed a thumping four-shot win after a nerveless final round display of six-under 66 at the inaugural Vooty Masters at the Vooty Golf County in Vikarabad, Telangana.
Related: Simple and straight, no frills to Om Prakash Chouhan’s surge
Manu (63-68-67-66), the overnight leader by one shot, totaled 24-under 264 for the week to register his fifth win of 2022 and thus match the PGTI record for most wins in a season, a record previously jointly held by Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (2022), Gaganjeet Bhullar (2009) and Ashok Kumar (2006-07). In the process, Gandas also equaled the PGTI record for the lowest winning total (24-under 264) set earlier by Anirban Lahiri, Rashid Khan and Akshay Sharma.
Manu took home the winning cheque worth Rs 15,00,000 to consolidate himself in second position in the TATA Steel PGTI Ranking as his prize money earnings for the season moved to Rs 65,78,938.
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Om Prakash Chouhan (66-63-73-66) finished runner-up at 20-under 268 following his last round of 66.
Shamim Khan shot a fine 64 on Sunday to secure third place at 16-under 272.
Yuvraj Sandhu continues to lead the PGTI Order of Merit thanks to his sensational last round effort of nine-under 63 which matched the course record set previously in the week by Manu and Om Prakash . Yuvraj gained 25 spots to finish fourth at 14-under 274 which took his season’s earnings to Rs. 67,39,568.
Manu, who set the course record of 63 on Day 1, had a mixed start to round four with birdie-bogey on the first two holes. But Manu began to find his groove with birdies on the third and fifth where a terrific approach shot and a brilliant chip left him tap-in putts. He then sank birdie putts from a range of seven to 10 feet on the eighth and ninth to lead by five shots at the turn over nearest rival Om Prakash.
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Manu, who has six career titles on the PGTI, then hit a poor approach and missed a short putt on the 10th to drop a double-bogey. Just as Om Prakash got within two shots of Manu, the latter resurrected his round with birdies on the 14th and 15th thanks to his sharp chipping and putting. Manu finally saw it home in style with birdies on the last two holes including a monster 45-feet conversion on the 18th.
Manu said, “I took one shot at a time and stayed in the present. I had a bad start on the back-nine but was steady thereafter and set up a lot of birdie opportunities for myself. Overall, it was a solid round barring a couple of mistakes.
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“I tend to get a bit aggressive as the round progresses but I managed to keep that tendency in check. I kept my composure well.
“I kept the intensity going after I got my first birdie on the back-nine. I’m quite pleased with the records added to my name but my focus is more on taking my game to the next level. This win gives me the momentum for the final two events of the season.”
