Shaurya Bhattacharya, who trailed by two shots after round three, saved his best for the last as he upstaged the pre-tournament favourite Yuvraj Sandhu and snatched victory in a playoff at The Poona Club Open 2025, an INR 1 crore event, played at the Poona Club Golf Course.
Related: Yuvraj Sandhu homes in on another win
Shaurya (69-63-67-64) carded a flawless seven-under 64 in the last round, the day’s best score, to finish with a total of 21-under 263 before making a birdie in the playoff to edge out Yuvraj.
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It was Shaurya’s second title of the season and his third overall which earned him a cheque worth INR 15 lakh and saw him consolidate his fourth position in the PGTI Order of Merit as his season earnings moved to INR 83,02,392.
Yuvraj (65-67-65-66), who also totaled 21-under 263, posted a 66 in the fourth round before losing out with a par in the playoff to finish runner-up. Yuvraj picked up the runner-up cheque worth INR 10 lakh that in turn helped him extend his lead in the PGTI Order of Merit by over INR 10 lakh over his nearest rival Arjun Prasad. The 28-year-old Yuvraj’s season earnings now stand at INR 98,67,200.
Veer Ahlawat and Shivendra Singh Sisodia finished a distant tied third at 12-under 272.
The 22-year-old Shaurya began the day with pars on the first seven holes even as Yuvraj, the overnight leader by two shots, raced ahead to build a five-shot lead at that stage.
Shaurya’s 12-feet birdie conversion on the eighth then triggered a huge turnaround. Thereafter, he went on to collect five birdies over the next six holes thanks to his outstanding tee shots and a 25-feet conversion. He thus got within one shot of the leader Yuvraj.
Yuvraj enjoyed a two-shot lead heading into the last hole. However, an erratic tee shot and a missed short putt resulted in a bogey for him on the 18th even as Shaurya drained a birdie on the same hole to take the match into a playoff. On the playoff hole, Yuvraj missed the fairway once again and came up with a par while Shaurya was solid from tee to green and thus scored the decisive birdie to walk away with the trophy.
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Shaurya said, “It was a very thrilling day of golf with the match going down to the wire. I felt like I held my nerves really well. I made very crucial putts, especially the par putt on the 16th. Then on the 18th the focus was on making birdie. The game-changer was the 25-footer for birdie on the 11th hole which I was not really expecting. That gave me a lot of momentum.
“My mindset on the playoff hole was to stay in the present, focus on my breathing and my aim and follow my process. Importantly, I kept the ball in play with my tee shot on the playoff hole. That set up the finish for me. I now feel like I can close the second half of the season well.”
