Kshitij Naveed Kaul receives the winner’s cheque and trophy from Mr. Mehul Mohanka, Senior Vice President, ICC. The other dignitaries in the picture (L – R) are His Excellency Mr. Nakamura Yutaka, Consul General of Japan, Mr. Ajay Kumar Mishra, Chief Marketing, Industrial Products & Projects, TATA Steel, Mr. Prashant Jalan, Executive Committee Member, ICC, Mr. Rohan Ghosh, Captain, RCGC, His Excellency Mr. Nick Lowe, British Deputy High Commissioner & Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI
The strapping 6 foot 3 inch tall, 20-year-old Kshitij Kaul from New Delhi showed he can fulfil the promise he showed as a teenager by winning his 2nd pro title at the ICC RCGC Open in Kolkata with scores of 69-65-70-72 (12-under 276) .
Kshitij, who’s slightly unconventional swing is based on the theory of The Golfing Machine,by Homer Kelley, followed by current PGA Tour long hitting sensation, Bryson DeChambeau, had recorded a top 10 finish on the PGTI at age 14, back in 2015 at The Oxford Western India Open.
Kshitij entered the final round with a one-shot lead and kept his nerve despite a strong challenge from Gurgaon’s Ankur Chadha who shot a 71 to finish 2nd at 11-under 277 his career-best so far.
Kshitij’s last win came in April 2019 at the Pune Open when he shot 69-67-66-67 (15-under 259), to win the title.
Kshitij said, “I wanted to go as low as I could but I made a few mistakes today. Nonetheless, I made some good short putts and managed to pull off birdies from tough spots. I recovered really well from the rough and the bunker on more than one occasion and that too at key moments.
“Even when my lead came down to just one shot, I didn’t change anything and continued to play in my natural aggressive style. Just before making the winning putt, a four-footer for par, I was mindful of the fact that in Pune too I made a four-feet conversion to win back in 2019. So I addressed the ball with that positive thought.
“I’ve been pretty consistent this season and this win is a result of that consistency,” added Kaul, who took home the winning cheque worth ₹6,46,600 to move up from 19th place to 14th position in the PGTI Order of Merit.
Kshitij will now get a chance to go back to the scene of his first victory as the PGTI is headed to the Pune Open at Poona Club from Dec. 1-4.
Credits:-
Photo – PGTI