Rashid Khan bags PGTI Players Championship title in Mewat

Rashid Khan of Delhi won the PGTI Players Championship after scoring 39 points in the final round of the tournament at the Classic Golf Resort in Mewat on Friday.

Rashid's final round score took his total to 159 points. Chandigarh's Gurbaaz Mann was the runner-up with a total score of 157 points.

The stableford points scoring format was followed during the tournament. Under this scoring format, each par accounts for two points, each birdie for three points, each eagle for four points, each bogey for one point and each double bogey (or worse) for zero points.

Rashid (40-40-40-39), who was two off the lead after round three, made a steady start with six pars and then produced a fabulous chip-in from 15 yards for birdie on the seventh. Rashid's 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 his third professional title.

Rashid picked up a cheque of Rs 4,84,950 for his effort and as a result climbed from sixth to third place on the 2013 Rolex Rankings.

Rashid said, "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.

"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."

Gurbaaz Mann (41-44-37-35), the overnight leader, slipped to second position after he fired a 35 today. His final round featured an eagle, a birdie and four bogeys. After dropping four bogeys on the first 13 holes, Mann 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.

Mann said, "My hitting was phenomenal through the week but my putter went cold in the last two rounds. I missed about 20 putts for birdie and par on the last two days. However, I have a lot of positives to take from this event. I stayed disciplined in my game all week and this has been my best result on the PGTI so far."

Delhi's Shamim Khan finished third with a total of 156 points.

Playing at his home course, Gurgaon-based amateur Ainesh Ahluwalia claimed fourth place with 155 points. Ainesh bagged the trophy for the best performance by an amateur.

Australian Kunal Bhasin, Mukesh Kumar of Mhow and Delhi's Vikrant Chopra were tied fifth at 154 points.