Yuvraj Singh Sandhu receives the winner’s trophy from Mrs. Archana Bhardwaj, ED Shipping RHQ, IOCL
24-year-old Yuvraj Sandhu of Chandigarh shot 66-68-67-64 for a spectacular 23-under total of 265, breaking the previous tournament scoring record and registering his maiden on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) at the IndianOil SERVO Masters Golf Tournament at Digboi Golf Links in Assam.
Yuvraj entered the final round with a two shot lead but extended his margin to six after a fabulous 8-under 64 consisting of an eagle, eight birdies and two bogeys to pick up his winning cheque of nearly Rs 10 lacs. With the win Sandhu now moves to 6th on the tour’s Order of Merit rankings with total earnings of ₹33,69,400.
Sandhu, a two-time winner on the PGTI’s Feeder Tour has been performing consistently lately with six top 10 finishes in the last seven events.
M Dharma was the only player in the final round who applied any pressure by reducing the margin to a single stroke on the eighth hole. But on the back nine, Yuvraj caught fire, making five birdies and an eagle in a 6 hole stretch from the 11th to 16th to extend his lead to seven. A bogey on the 17th had negligible effect on the outcome in a dominating performance.
Talking about his first win and how special it is for him, Yuvraj said, “First win is something that all players want to treasure ! I am just giving this one time to sink in while I have my tub of ice cream. The win means alot to me as I feel my team’s hard work is paying off and I can’t be more thankful to each one of my team members.”
He further added on his memories from the northeast where his father (Brig BS Sandhu) was posted while growing up and where he picked up golf, “I was introduced to golf by my parents and when my father was posted in Dimapur (Nagaland), it’s actually a dream come true that I got my first win where I started playing this beautiful sport. Coming to the Northeast is always nostalgic because it brings back a lot of childhood memories. I remember me and my best friend making plans in the last two periods about rushing to the golf club right after school just because the sunset time is 04:30 PM.”
A new sense of confidence seems to have gotten into Yuvraj with the win, and he is looking excitedly for more of them to come. He said, “with a win under my belt I feel like this one should have company so I am looking forward to continuing this streak and having fun while I do it. I am planning to play a few Asian tour events this Jan onwards. All I can think about is celebrating it like there is no tomorrow and getting back to the golf course with the same mindset.”
IndianOil SERVO Master Golf Tournament Leaderboard – https://pgtofindia.com/tournament/624/score
Credits:-
Photo – PGTI