Udayan Mane receives the winner’s cheque and trophy from Mr. T V Narendran, CEO & Managing Director, TATA Steel. The other dignitaries in the picture are Mr. Sanjiv Paul, Vice President (Safety, Health & Sustainability), TATA Steel (extreme right), Mrs. Ruchi Narendran (extreme left) and Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI (2nd from left).
On an exciting final day at the ₹1.5 crore Tata Steel Tour Championship in Jamshedpur, Udayan Mane outlasted two-time European Tour winner Shubhankar Sharma and a charging Rashid Khan down the stretch to claim the title by one shot.
Mane began the final round tied Sharma at 15-under, with Khan seven shots back at 8-under. Sharma, who shot 63 on Saturday, quickly gained the upper hand and took a two-shot lead into the back nine. But a bogey on the 10th cut his lead in half before Mane birdied the 11th and the 13th to edge ahead.
Meanwhile Khan was racing up the leaderboard thanks to an eagle on the par-5 third and seven birdies on his way to matching the low score of the tournament with a 9-under 63. His final birdie came on the 18th, which gave him the clubhouse lead at 17-under.
Mane then faced a pressure-packed 12-foot putt for par on the 72nd hole for the win, which he duly made. The 30-year-old Olympian Udayan Mane of Pune finished on 18-under 270, having shot 68-66-67-69. His final round included six birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey on the par-4 8th. Khan finished alone in second while Sharma limped home with a 72, leaving him tied-4th with SSP Chawrasia, the 36-hole leader.
The winning check of over ₹22,50,000 lacs took Mane’s earnings to ₹58,72,275 for the 2020-21 season, and leapfrogged him to the top of the PGTI Order of Merit (OOM) over Karandeep Kochhar and Chikkarangappa S.
Overall, Mane won four titles and posted four other top-10s this season. “I just like the courses here in Jamshedpur,” Mane said. “That’s the reason I’ve won here twice. It’s a good test for the professionals to adapt from one course to another in the middle of the round. Winning the PGTI Order of Merit title is great for my confidence as I will head to the Asian Tour soon. I’d now like to carry this form to Asia.”
By topping the OOM Mane gains a four-year exemption on the PGTI.
Udayan Mane tees off on the final hole of the tournament
Karandeep Kochhar, who was leading the OOM going into the Tour Championship shot 75-67-69 for a 6-under total of 282 and a tied-23rd finish. He ends the season with ₹51,00,880 in prize money and runner-up on the tour’s OOM. Chikkarangappa S. finished tied-12th at 10-under 278 and wound up in third place on the OOM with earnings of ₹48,07,880.
Kartik Sharma – PGTI Emerging Player of the Year
Kartik Sharma, the 20-year-old from Gurgaon, was named the PGTI Emerging Player of the Year. Sharma posted five top-10s this season, including a runner-up finish in Pune, and lead all rookies with season’s earnings of Rs. 18,22,750, good enough for 18th place on the OOM. He tied for 37th at the Tour Championship with an even par 288 total.
Credits:-
Photo – PGTI