Osaka, Japan, 22-04-2018
Rahil Gangjee lifts Panasonic Open Golf Championship title, ends 14-year victory drought
Gangjee becomes third Indian to win on the Japan Golf Tour
India’s Rahil Gangjee ended an agonizingly long 14-year title drought on the international stage after registering a one-shot victory at the Panasonic Open Golf Championship in Japan on Sunday.
Gangjee (69-65-68-68) closed the week with a three-under-68 to sign off with a tournament total of 14-under-270 for his second international and Asian Tour win.
The 39-year-old Bengaluru-based golfer finished one shot ahead of the Korean duo of Hyungsung Kim and Junggon Hwang at the JP¥150,000,000 (approx. US$1,370,000) event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).
Rahil, whose only previous international triumph had come at the Volkswagen Masters China in 2004, began round four on Sunday as one of the major contenders for the title as he was placed just one shot off the lead in second position after the penultimate round.
Gangjee had a sedate front-nine as his early birdie on the second was negated by bogeys on the fifth and seventh and he made the turn at one-over being one shot off the lead.
However, the man who had suffered several heart-breaking near misses since his last win in 2004 including a play-off loss to SSP Chawrasia at the 2014 Panasonic Open India, summoned all his will power to turn the match in his favour on the back-nine.
Rahil began his title charge with a hat-trick of birdies on the 12th, 13th and 14th and then despite immense pressure on the 18th, managed to hit his bunker shot out to within 10 feet of the pin. Gangjee finally went on to sink that decisive birdie that brought him back into the winner’s circle after enduring years of frustration.
Rahil thus became only the third Indian after Jyoti Randhawa and Jeev Milkha Singh to win an event on the Japan Golf Tour. Jyoti had won a JGTO event in 2003 while Jeev had won four on the tour between 2006 and 2008.
A thrilled Gangjee, who has now earned a two-year winners’ exemption on the Asian Tour and the JGTO, said, “It has been 14 years. I’ve been in such situations a few times now but obviously have not been able to convert my chances until today. It has been a very hard 14 years and the thing that surprised even myself, was my will to keep going.
“Everyone will play their part in helping you out, the caddie, the mother, the father, the wife, your friends. But more than anything else, you have to want it and that has kept me going.
“My heart rate was up especially when I got to the green and I knew I had to get up and down. That’s where my heart started racing and my mind started going all over the place. That was the chance I had to convert. My third shot out of the bunker was not really a tough shot. But under the pressure it could have been a very tough one. But somehow I was calm. My bunker play is one of the strongest aspects of my game. A lot of people don’t get to see it, but if you ask my caddie, he’ll tell you it’s the best.
“I have a lot of close friends who have been there for me and have always supported me. Having mates on Tour supporting you is a big thing as golf is a very competitive sport. It is an individual sport and you need friends to help you through the bad times. This win will sink in. When you do not deliver after so many times, you start to doubt yourself and when you finally deliver, it’s a very big thing,” added Rahil, who had missed the cut in the last three events.
Gangjee was in 84th place on the Panasonic Swing at the start of the week but finished second in the contest with his win at the Panasonic Open Golf Championship.
Ajeetesh Sandhu (69-69-68-69) was the other Indian who had a top-10 finish. Ajeetesh secured tied 10th place at nine-under-275 as a result of his final round of 69.
SSP Chawrasia finished tied 40th at three-under-281 while Arjun Atwal was tied 44th at two-under-282.
Although India’s Shiv Kapur closed with a 75 for a share of 53rd place at even-par-284, it was enough for him to win the Panasonic Swing series where he earned the top bonus prize of US$70,000 and an exemption into an event on the European Tour this year.
Kapur said, “Coming into this week, I carried a lot of pressure of trying to win the Panasonic Swing and that kind of showed in my game a little bit. I made the cut in all five events on the Panasonic Swing, finishing in the top-20 in four out of the five events. So I’m very proud of the way I’ve played. To be able to be the first to win the inaugural Panasonic Swing will go down in the history books as a proud achievement for me.”
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