Vinod clinches PGTI title

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Vindo Kumar in action during the PGTI Players Championship at the Aamby Valley Golf Course in Pune on Friday.

Delhi’s Vinod Kumar sparkled on the final day as he fired a bogey-free two-under-70 at the Aamby Valley Golf Course in Pune on Friday to clinch the PGTI Players Championship by a stroke.

Vinod finished with a tournament total of nine-under-279. Arshdeep Tiwana of the Golden Greens Golf & Country Club, Gurgaon, and Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta shared second place at eight-under-280.
Vinod (70-69-70-70) began the final round in tied second place and soon moved into title contention. He made a brilliant par-save on the par-5 third hole where he first found the fairway bunker and then the hazard.
The 32-year-old recovered well on the third with a chip from behind the bunker that landed within a couple of feet of the flag.
Vinod made his move up the leaderboard with a 20-foot birdie putt conversion on the sixth. The professional from the Delhi Golf Club earned his second birdie on the 13th where his well-directed approach shot landed six feet from the hole.
However, he was disappointed to miss birdie putts from five feet on the 12th and 14th.
Vinod did well to make par on the par-3 15th which had the day’s toughest pin position.
Shamim Khan had stumbled to an eight (five-over) on the 15th after hitting it out of bounds twice and then finding the hazard. Shamim’s title hopes were dashed on the 15th. Gupta also carded a bogey on the same hole.
Vinod saved par in a pressure situation once again when he sank a 15-foot putt on the 16th. He went on to make pars on the last two holes as well to seal his second title on the PGTI. His win at the `40 lakh event made him richer by `6,46,600 and took him from 22nd place to 11th on the 2012 Rolex rankings.
“My game was in great shape this week. I shot four under-par scores and was very consistent. I was particularly solid today. I recovered from some very tough situations such as the third, 15th and 16th. I made my best par-save of the tournament on the third and did well to negotiate the tricky 15th hole where quite a few other players had struggled.
“The sixth hole is the longest par-3 on the course and the windy conditions made it the toughest hole of the day.”

I managed to salvage a birdie on the sixth,” said Vinod, who has won a team event and a title on the PGTI Feeder Tour besides his two wins on the PGTI.