By IANS
Digboi (Assam) : Mukesh Kumar registered his first win on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) circuit after putting up an impressive performance Sunday in the IOC XtraPremium Masters 2007 at the Digboi Golf Links.
Overnight leader Rahul Ganapathy finished in second position, two strokes behind Mukesh Kumar.
Mukesh who trailed Ganapathy by one stroke after the third round, shot a consistent round of two-under 70 on the final day. His overall score read eight-under-par 280.
Mukesh’s final round began on a steady note as he made eight pars and one birdie on the seventh hole on the front nine.
On the back nine he hit two more birdies on the 14th and 16th holes. His only bogey of the day came on the par four 17th hole.
Mukesh was ecstatic after his victory as it was his first on the PGTI and fourth at the Digboi Golf Links.
“I knew I had the title in my grasp after the third round itself. I say this because I know the course at Digboi very well,” he said.
Mukesh rounded off an excellent week with scores of 69, 73, 68 and 70. “This is my first title in almost two years and because of my victory-drought everyone felt that my game was on the decline.”
“The win at Digboi will go a long way in answering my critics and also given me tremendous confidence for the rest of the season,” said the champion.
Mukesh’s performance earned him an amount of Rs.323,300.
For the second placed Ganapathy it was a case of so near yet so far. He shot one-over 73 that took his total score to eight-under-par 282 in the final round.
Ganapathy’s final round included birdies on the 3rd, 4th, 9th and 14th and bogeys on the 5th, 10th, 12th, 15th and 17th.
He missed a two-foot putt for par on the 17th that turned out to be crucial in the end.
“I hit the ball really well but my putting was poor. I missed some simple putts. If I had made par on the 17th, I could have had an outside chance. Nevertheless, the performance at Digboi has given me confidence to do well at my next event, the Asian Tour’s Cambodia Open,” said Ganapathy.
Chandigarh’s Harender Gupta (71, 72, 70, 70) finished third at five-under 283 while Mohammed Islam was fourth at four-under 284.
Anirban Lahiri and Kolkata’s Ranjit Singh finished tied fifth with scores of one-under 287 with the latter recording the best round of the day (six-under 66).