Rashid edges out Mann for title

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Rashid Khan

Delhi’s Rashid Khan won the PGTI Players Championship at the Classic Golf Resort near here on Friday with a final round score of 39 to finish with a total of 159 points. Chandigarh’s Gurbaaz Mann was runner-up with 157 points. Khan picked up a prize cheque of `4,84,950 for his win and as a result has climbed from sixth to third in the 2013 Rolex Rankings.

“I was in good hitting form this week. I hit it pretty close on all four days. However, my short-game wasn’t that great. I got into my rhythm today with the chip-in on the seventh. I then made a fantastic recovery after finding the trees on the ninth.,” Khan said on his triumph.
“There was no looking back from there on. It’s good to have a win under the belt early in the season. This victory will help me focus harder during the rest of the season.”
The event followed the Stableford format in which a par accounts for two points, birdie for three, eagle for four, bogey for one and double bogey (or worse) for zero.
Khan (40-40-40-39), who was trailing Mann by two points after round three, made a steady start with six pars and then produced a fabulous chip-in from 15 yards for a birdie on the seventh. His next birdie came on the ninth where he landed his third shot within three feet of the pin. He then hit it out of bounds on the 11th and dropped a bogey. The 22-year-old sank a 20-feet eagle putt on the 14th to all but seal the third professional title of his career.
Mann (41-44-37-35) had to be content with second as he gathered 35 points in the round as compared to Khan’s 39. Mann’s final round featured an eagle, a birdie and four bogeys.
Mann had a forgettable start to the round dropping four bogeys on the first 13 holes but he pulled it back a bit with an eagle on the 14th and a birdie on the 18th.
On the par-5 14th, he found the green in two shots and subsequently sank a 10-footer for eagle.
Delhi’s Shamim Khan (156) finished third and Gurgaon-based amateur Ainesh Ahluwalia (155) fourth.