New Delhi, 10-10-2014
Anura Rohana coasts to two-shot win at BILT Open, moves up into top-3 in Rolex Rankings & Super Series
Shankar Das finishes runner-up, climbs to second in Rolex Rankings
Sri Lankan Anura Rohana (67-70-68-69) emerged triumphant at the BILT Open 2014, the fifth PGTI Super Series event of the season, after a final round of three-under-69 at the Delhi Golf Club. Rohana totaled 14-under-274 for the week at the Rs. 1 crore event to claim his fourth title. Shankar Das of Kolkata (69-66-69-72) finished runner-up at 12-under-276 after returning a final round of even-par-72.
Anura Rohana, who was overnight second, came out firing on all cylinders as he shot down four birdies on the first seven holes to snatch the lead from Shankar Das. Rohana chipped-in for birdie on the fifth and converted a 15-footer to pick up a stroke on the seventh. Anura had a minor setback when he dropped a bogey on the eighth. However, the 41-year-old from Colombo kept up the momentum on the back-nine with three birdies against an equal number of bogeys. The seasoned professional, who bagged his third title on the PGTI on Friday, also landed it within four feet on three occasions for birdies.
Rohana said, “It’s great to win my first title in two years. I started really well and that set up the round for me. The plan at the start of the day was to shoot a score of around three to four under. The turning point was my chip-in for birdie on the fifth which was followed by Shankar’s erratic second shot on the sixth that led to a bogey. There was a two-shot swing in my favour at that stage. There was no looking back thereafter as I used my experience to stay ahead till the end. My best shot of the day was the tee shot on the par-3 17th that landed four feet from the flag and produced a birdie. I’m delighted to finally win at DGC after having played here for over a decade.”
Shankar Das, the overnight leader by one shot, had a promising start as he birdied the first after landing it within four feet. Das, however, bogeyed the sixth and eighth after finding the bushes, to concede a significant three-stroke lead to Rohana. The 31-year-old Shankar could not get back into the game thereafter as he only managed a birdie on the 18th.
Manav Jaini and Chiragh Kumar, both professionals from the Delhi Golf Club, finished tied third at 10-under-278. While Jaini came up with an immaculate 66, the joint best score of the final round, which included an eagle and four birdies, Chiragh posted a 70.
Rashid Khan ended fifth at nine-under-279.
Chandigarh’s Randhir Singh Ghotra matched Manav Jaini’s 66 as the best round of the day. Ghotra, who made four straight birdies from the 13th to the 16th during his round, finished tied 13th at four-under-284.
Feroz Singh Garewal of Chandigarh won the trophy for the best performance by an amateur. He finished 21st at one-over-289.
Rohana, who took home a cheque worth Rs. 16,16,500, has now moved from 25th to third place in the Rolex Rankings. Rashid Khan continues to lead the Rolex Rankings with earnings of Rs. 25,31,700 for the year. Shankar Das climbed from ninth to second position in the rankings after his runner-up finish on Friday.
In the Super Series Points Table, Anura climbed from 38th position to second place as he took his tally of points to 1727.75 points. Rashid Khan continues in the lead with 3155.50 points. Shankar also moved up from 15th to fourth place. There are two events remaining in the Super Series this year.
About PGTI:
Formed in 2006, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is the recognised official body of professional golf in India. PGTI's objective is to promote professional golf in the country, as well as to give players an opportunity to be involved in the decision making on all aspects of the game. Headed by Mr. Kapil Dev (President), PGTI's governing body comprises leading Indian golf professionals. PGTI currently has over 300 members.
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