Manu Gandas endured an ordinary final round of one-over 73 before fighting back and keeping his nerve to triumph in a three-way playoff at the inaugural Trident Open, an INR 1 crore event, played at the Chandigarh Golf Club.
Related: Manoj S lines up rookie career’s biggest day
Manu (66-73-69-73), PGTI Order of Merit leader Yuvraj Sandhu (72-69-70-70) and Shubham Jaglan (71-69-71-70), who made his PGTI debut this week, ended the regulation 72 holes with matching totals of seven-under 281 to take the match into a playoff. Manu prevailed in the playoff with a par to return to winning ways after one year and 10 months.
View this post on Instagram
Manu’s ninth professional win saw him pick up a cheque worth INR 15 lakh that also lifted him from 14th to seventh position in the PGTI Order of Merit.
Rookie Manoj S, the third-round leader, who was looking to become the youngest player to win as a professional on the PGTI, shot a last round of 75 to finish tied fourth at six-under 282 along with Shaurya Bhattacharya (71), the winner of PGTI’s last event.
Former PGTI Order of Merit champion Manu, who was one shot off the lead in second place after round three, made an early gain on Friday when he played a terrific chip to set up a tap-in birdie on the second hole. Manu then slowed down with pars all the way till the ninth and a bogey on the 10th.
A 27-feet birdie conversion on the 13th made him the top contender for the title. However, finding the trees with his drive on the 16th resulted in a double-bogey for Manu which was a big setback for him.
View this post on Instagram
Both Yuvraj and Shubham made five birdies and three bogeys to catch up with Manu and join him in the playoff. Manu produced the best drive in the three-way playoff as both the others missed the fairway. Manu then played a quality chip that left him a four-feet par putt for victory which he went on to convert.
Manu, who played on the DP World Tour for one year following his PGTI Order of Merit win in 2022, said, “The thought-process today was to continue doing what I had been doing well earlier in the week. I had posted seven top-10s in the last nine events, so the game was trending well and I knew that it was just a matter of time before I won.
“I was a little frustrated with the double-bogey on the 16th but then just decided to let it pass and rather focus on what I had in my control. On the playoff hole (18th), I thought I will play it like I had done through the week by ensuring that I find the centre of the fairway. That’s exactly what I did and it paid off for me.
View this post on Instagram
“This year becomes even more special for me as I became a father just two months back. This is the first time my two-month-old son has travelled to an event and I’m delighted to lift the trophy with him in my arms and my wife beside me.”
It was a creditable joint runner-up finish for Shubham in his very first event on the PGTI. On the other hand, Yuvraj, the other joint runner-up, continued his fine form to extend his lead in the PGTI Ranking as he crossed the INR 1 crore mark in his season earnings. Yuvraj picked up a cheque worth INR 7,99,900, to take his 2025 earnings to INR 1,06,67,100.
