OP Chouhan has won two out of the last three tournaments on the PGTI
Veteran pro Om Prakash Chouhan clinched victory at the S.S.P. Chawrasia Invitational presented by TAKE Sports, shooting an impressive 6-under 282 with rounds of 70-69-70-73, for his fourth win on the 2023 PGTI season and makes him the first player on the domestic tour to surpass the lucrative ₹1 crore mark in season earnings.
Since the inception of the PGTI in 2006, Ashok Kumar was the first to cross the ₹50 lakh threshold in 2010. Subsequently, players like Shamim Khan (2012 & 2017), Shankar Das (2014), Khalin Joshi (2018), Rashid Khan (2019), and Udayan Mane (2021) achieved this milestone. Last year, Delhi’s Manu Gandas set a high bar with over ₹88 lakhs in total earnings and six wins in a season.
As the 2023 PGTI season heads towards its conclusion, Chouhan, fueled by his remarkable performance, has the potential to reach the ₹1.5 crore mark. With two more big money events remaining, this season has proven to be a game-changer, with funds injected by the PGA & European Tour’s helping PGTI reach its highest ever season prize money on offer.
If Chouhan ends the year at No 1 – he will earn full playing rights on the European Tour in 2024, courtesy of the agreement between the European Tour and PGTI instituted from 2022.
Rookie Varun Chopra, an American of Indian origin, who had travelled from Illinois, USA for the Q-School earlier in January, carded rounds of 73-72-69-69 to register his second runner-up finish of the season on the PGTI at 5-under 283.
Highest earnings by players on the PGTI
Season – Player Earnings
2023 – Om Prakash Chouhan ₹1,13,80,559
2022 – Manu Gandas ₹ 88,50,688
2023 – *Karan Pratap Singh ₹75,33,173
2023 – *Sachin Baisoya ₹71,46,666
2022 – Yuvraj Singh Sandhu ₹70,99,768
2023 – Aman Raj ₹ 69,85,745
*Current season
Photo – PGTI