Delhi’s Sachin Baisoya  carded a a steady final round of one-under 69 that enabled him to post a wire-to-wire win to take home his maiden trophy and cheque of Rs. 15- lakh at the Rs. 1 crore TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship at Tollygunge Golf Club, here on Friday.

Sachin’s (64-66-65-69) long-awaited victory came as a result of his total to 16-under 264 and helped him prevail with a two-shot margin.

Harsh Gangwar (66-64-67-69), another Delhi-based golfer, was  tied second as his last round of 69 as he finished the tournament  at a total of 14-under 266.

Rookie Varun Chopra (65-68-65-68) of the United States, making his pro debut on the PGTI shot a fourth round of two-under 68 to also take tied second place along with Gangwar.

Sachin , who led from the first round,  was two shots ahead going into round four, made early headway today  with a birdie from long range on the second. He dropped his first bogey of the day on the ninth where his ball was plugged in the bunker.

With closest rivals Harsh  and Varun  breathing down his neck, Sachin played some brilliant wedge shots to pick up tap-in birdies on the 13th and 15th to seize the advantage. He  made a couple of crucial pars on the 16th and 17th that all but sealed the title for him. A  bogey on the last hole was not enough to halt his charge towards the title.

“I was numb after the final putt as I had been waiting for my first victory for a very long time."said Sachin adding “The birdie on the 15th was probably the turning point as it resulted in a two-shot swing in my favour after Harsh bogeyed the same hole. I was then playing for par till the end and hit some good tee shots on the 16th and the 17th that saw me home.

Harsh  overnight second and two off the lead, was in the mix till the 14th having sunk a tap-in eagle on the 13th as well as four birdies and three bogeys. However, a bogey on the 15th and a double-bogey on the 16th where he  hit it out of bounds, put paid to his chances.

Varun  lying overnight third and three off the lead, also came close to challenging for the lead on the final day but his double-bogey on the 13th saw him drop out of the race. Varun also made five birdies and a bogey during his round.

Gurugram’s Kartik Sharma (67) and Patna’s Aman Raj (68) finished tied fourth at 13-under 267. Udayan Mane (64) ended tied 13th at eight-under 272.

Kolkata’s Sandeep Yadav (69), the lone amateur to make the cut, finished tied 27th at four-under 276 thus bagging the trophy for the best performance by an amateur.

Last year’s winner Yuvraj  Sandhu took tied 30th place at one-under 279. Raju Ali Mollah, the only local  professional to make the cut, was tied 46th at one-over 281.

HSB