Sanjay Kumar triumphs at Players Championship backed by Professional Golf Tour of India
The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) event of Players Championship came to an end with Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow clinching the trophy and the winner’s purse. The tournament was played at the scenic par-70 Rambagh Golf Club in Jaipur, India. Total prize
money of the event was three million Indian rupees and was sponsored by Aircel. This was Kumar’s maiden career victory on the PGTI, which was over-whelming for him. He carded a round of one-over par 71 on the final day and had a four rounds total aggregate
score of 16-under par 264.
Sanjay is a seasoned campaigner and has been playing the tour for a while but without any success. His scores also included a superb nine-under par 61 in the third round. It was clearly seen in the shot-making that there was momentum in his swing and the
putter was also favoring him. Before the final round started, he was a bit nervous being the leader but overcame the hurdles that came his way. Kumar also broke the course record of four rounds score of 16-under which was held by Gaganjeet Bhullar and Himmat
Rai two years back at a score of 10-under par.
Mukesh Kumar of Madhya Pradesh was placed in second position. He is an experienced veteran who marked three wins on PGTI last year. Kumar had under par rounds throughout the tournament but failed to win the title. He only needed to card two birdies on his
round to overcome Sanjay Kumar. Mukesh had scores of 66, 66, 64 and 69 with a total four rounds aggregate score of 15-under par 265. It was a margin of just one stroke due to which Mukesh had to be content in the second slot.
This was Sanjay Kumar’s fourth win as a professional and his first win on the PGTI circuit. As a professional, this much awaited win came after almost six years. The man from Lucknow was a little wayward in his approach shots but still managed to pull out
a crucial win. Mukesh only needed to make a birdie on the par-4, 18th to go in a playoff but could only manage a par.
Proud Kumar after winning the championship improved his Rolex Rankings of India from 16th spot to the third position. This is also his career best ranking so far.
After the tournament concluded the winner said, “I did not play to the best of my ability during the final round but under-par scores in the first three rounds helped me win the title. My hitting was up to the mark throughout the week.”
Vinod Kumar who plays at the famous Delhi Golf Course had to be content with third place. He also carded under par rounds in the four day tournament but was not enough for winning the title. Kumar finished the tournament with a total aggregate score of 12-under
par 268. Anthony Paul was fourth at eleven-under.
Sanjay Kumar was pleased with his iron shots and putting in the championship and achieved a milestone in his career after a long wait. He picked up the trophy and claimed the winner’s cheque of 484,950 Indian rupees.
Tags: