Rashid Khan takes top honours at PGTI Eagleburg Masters with a two-stroke triumph

Rashid leads Rolex Rankings and Super Series Points Table

Eagleton – The Golf Resort, Bangalore, October 3, 2014: Delhi’s Rashid Khan bagged his sixth title in style at the Rs. 40 lakh PGTI Eagleburg Masters 2014, the fourth Super Series event of the season. Rashid shot a confident three-under-69 in the final round to end up with a tournament total of 19-under-269. C Muniyappa of Bangalore also fired a 69 in round four to garner second place at 17-under-271.

Rashid Khan (68-67-65-69), the overnight leader by two shots, had a slow start with a bogey on the third but then put together three straight birdies from the fourth to the sixth to consolidate his position. He sank a 15-footer on the fifth. The 23-year-old dropped a shot on the ninth against the run of play but came back strongly once again courtesy an eagle on the par-5 10^th. Rashid’s magnificent second shot landed within a foot and a half of the flag on the 10^th. The wiry lad from the Delhi Golf Club then made eight straight pars to seal the affair.

Khan has now moved from second to first place in the Rolex Rankings having overtaken Chikkarangappa. He took home a cheque worth Rs. 6,46,600 this week to take his total earnings for the year to Rs. 21,25,200. Chikkarangappa is currently second in the Rolex Rankings. In the Super Series Points Table, Rashid built on his lead by taking his tally to 2805.5 points. Chikkarangappa is second in the Super Series with 1429.4 points.

Rashid, a winner on the Asian Tour this year, said, “I played really good golf this week compared to the last two weeks on the Asian Tour. This is my second-best tournament total and I’m very proud of this effort. I changed my iron shafts before this tournament and that definitely paid off. The second shot from 240 yards out on the 10^th was the turning point as it set up the eagle. I’ve done well on the 10^th through this week having birdied the hole in all three previous rounds. I knew I could score on the 10^th again. Even after the eagle I played steady as I knew that Muniyappa could be a threat till the end due to his local knowledge.”

Muniyappa (69-67-66-69), who started the day in second, two behind Rashid, had a poor start with a bogey on the first. The 2009 Indian Open champion then went on a birdie spree with four birdies from the fifth to the 10^th to stay in touch with the leader. He chipped-in on the fifth and almost holed it from 70 yards on the ninth. Muniyappa, who won at Eagleton back in 2008, had two more birdies thanks to long putts on the 14^th and 16^th. However, bogeys on the 13^th and 18^th proved to be costly for him.

Muniyappa’s runner-up finish meant he moved up from 28^th to 13^th in the Rolex Rankings and from 33^rd to fifth in the Super Series.

Muniyappa said, “This is one of my best finishes in a long time. I’m delighted with my performance here. Nonetheless, I feel I missed out on a crucial eagle opportunity on the 10^th that cost me dearly. But this event has got my confidence going.”

Harendra Gupta of Chandigarh returned the day’s best score, a seven-under-65, to end up in third place at 16-under-272. Ajeetesh Sandhu, another Chandigarh golfer, was another two shots back, in fourth place.

Delhi-based Vikrant Chopra grabbed fourth place at 13-under-275. His final round of 66 featured four straight birdies from the 15^th to the 18^th.

Bangalore’s Chikkarangappa returned a 70 in round four to claim tied seventh place at 11-under-277. He thus conceded his lead in the Rolex Rankings to Rashid Khan.

There are three events remaining in the Super Series this year.