Udayan Mane wins Delhi-NCR Open by 2 strokes

Key Highlights:

→ Udayan Mane grabs his 11^th PGTI title

→ Shivendra Singh Sisodia finishes runner-up

Udayan Mane smashed a solid 3-under 69 in the final round on Friday to grab a two-shot victory at the Delhi-NCR Open.

The 30-year-old Mane clinched his 11th title on the PGTI after he totaled 14-under-274 to prevail by two strokes at Golden Greens Golf Club in Gurugram.

Shivendra Singh Sisodia of Gurugram secured a career-best tied second place at 12-under-276 after a brilliant birdie-eagle finish on the last two holes helped the 31-year-old put up a score of 66 at the Rs. 30 lakh event.

The star attraction at the event Chikkarangappa (68) and the young lad Aman Raj (69), also took a share of second place.

Karandeep Kochhar (67) claimed fifth place at 11-under-277 to maintain his lead in the PGTI Order of Merit.

Udayan Mane (71-67-67-69), the overnight leader by one shot, carded a flawless 3-under 69 with the help of 3 birdies to claim yet another title in his bag of achievements.

Mane said, “My game-plan today was to go bogey-free, put the ball on the fairway and the green and take my two-putt. I was focused on a hot start which I did get. My good putts didn’t roll in thereafter but I decided not to let the frustration creep in. Finally, I got the very crucial birdie on the 18th.

“On the 18th, Aman’s eagle putt and my birdie putt were almost the same distance so we had to call in the referee to measure our distance from the pin in order to decide who putts first. My putt was a little longer so I went first. That kind of helped me as there was lesser pressure while putting first.

“I was well aware that I needed a par or better on the 18th that’s why I played a little conservatively. My tee shot was a long one so it made sense for me to go for the green instead of laying up. I went for it and made a great up and down for birdie.

Shivendra Singh Sisodia, who was playing at his home course, fired four birdies and an eagle in his impressive final round of 6-under 66.

“My driving was outstanding through the week as I landed it over 350 yards on about 10 occasions during the tournament. Today I struck it over 300 yards at least four times. I checked my ball carry distance before the event and it was around 296 yards. That gave me a lot of confidence. I also enjoyed the advantage of playing in my home conditions especially while hitting it off the tee.” said Shivendra.

“On the 16th, I saw the leaderboard for the first time today and felt I had a chance to get close to the leader. Thereafter, I played quite aggressively and got the reward for it.”

Top-ranked Indian at the OWGR Rashid Khan (70) was tied 13th at six-under-282.

Udayan’s third title of the 2020-21 PGTI season will help him make a big push up the world rankings from his current 320th position, and as a result, also boost his chances in the Tokyo Olympics qualification race.