Hole No. 17 at DGC tested best of the players during The DGC Open.
In picture – Veer Ahlawat getting ready to tee-off
With home player Ajeetesh Sandhu leading by two strokes on the 17th tee in the final round, spectators at the venue had already begun celebrations. After all, the 17th is a simple downhill 165 yard par three and the `18th is a straightforward par five.
But the wind was swirling overhead and with the pin tucked in the top right corner of the green behind the large sand bunker, the correct play was to the middle of the large green. Sandhu made a crucial error and the ball headed right into the deep unforgiving bushes which the course is notorious for and he had to use his provisional ball which was safely on the green. A double bogey resulted and he slipped back into a tie for the lead with the final hole to play.
We all know what happened next – both Sandhu and Thippong birdied the 18th but then Thippong repeated the birdie in the first playoff hole to snatch the title from Sandhu who could only manage a par.
Just two groups earlier, DGC home player Shiv Kapur also double bogeyed the 17th, a blemish in his otherwise fine card of four under par 68. Had he parred, Shiv would have finished at -4 and in a tie for 4th place alongside Gaganjeet Bhullar, who crucially managed birdies on 17 & 18.
Four Indians made double bogeys on 17 in the final round Shiv Kapur, Om Prakash Chouhan, Aman Raj and Sandhu.
As they say at Delhi GC, it’s never over till it’s over. The 17th certainly proved the point.