Winner Aryan Roopa Anand (centre) receives the trophy from (L – R) Brig. (Retd.) V Ganapathy, CEO – Tollygunge Club, Capt. Sanjiv Dhir, President – Tollygunge Club, Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO – PGTI and Mr. Deep Banerjee, Golf Captain – Tollygunge Club
Two-time All India Amateur Champion, 21-year-old Aryan Roopa Anand of Bangalore, shot incredibly consistent rounds of 64-63-65-68 (20-under 266) to post a dominating six-shot win over Karan Pratap Singh 68-65-65-68 (14-under 266) at the PGTI Final Qualifying at Tollygunge Club in Kolkata.
Anand is the first amateur in six years to win the PGTI Qualifier after Dhruv Sheoran in 2017. Rules allow amateurs to play Tour qualifiers and decide if they want to turn pro depending on the result.
The cut in the final round was set at four-over 284, with the top 34 players excluding ties earning their full playing rights for the 2023 TATA Steel PGTI season. Since there were six players tied for 32nd, the top three who earned their full cards were selected based on a countback.
The top 34 included seven amateurs and five foreigners (one each from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, USA and Canada).
Anand, who was the overnight leader by six shots, went wire-to-wire in winning the tournament. He started slowly on the final day with an early bogey on the third but then proceeded to birdie the sixth, 10th, 13th, 16th and 17th to ensure there would be no drama on the way to his coronation The double-bogey he made on the 18th hole was inconsequential and only reduced his winning margin from eight to six.
Runner-up Karan Pratap Singh’s last round saw him make an eagle, three birdies and three bogeys. He bagged the top prize money cheque of Rs. 75,000 for finishing as the best professional.
It remains to be seen how Aryan fares on the pro tour, after a glittering amateur career where he represented India at major international events across the world.
Credits:-
Photo – PGTI