Golf: Khalin Joshi emerges victorious at Jaipur Open

Jaipur: Khalin Joshi’s final round of three-under 67 was good enough for him to turn the tables on overnight leader M Dharma and emerge victorious at the Rs 40 lakh Jaipur Open golf tournament presented by Rajasthan Tourism, here on Friday.

Joshi (61-66-64-67), who made a dramatic three-putt from four feet on the last hole to end the tournament with a bogey, won by one shot as he totalled 22-under 258 for the week.

Khalin’s fifth career trophy ended his three-year long title drought.

The 29-year-old Joshi, who hails from the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) course, overcame the disappointment of his runner-up finish in Delhi last week as he bagged a winning cheque worth Rs. 6,46,600 to move up from fifth to third in the PGTI Order of Merit.

He made six birdies and three bogeys on the last day.

“I was not comfortable with my irons today, especially on the approach shots. However, I drove and putted really well. So I said to myself to keep hitting as many fairways and greens as possible and the putter will do the rest of the job,” Joshi said.

“The key for me today was making some up and downs and clutch par putts. This win will help me raise my game even more in the future events.”

Dharma (62-62-65-70), the overnight leader by two shots, slipped to second place with an even-par 70 on the last day as he struggled to hole putts. He ended the week with a total of 21-under 259.

Sunit Chowrasia (64) of Kolkata and Harendra Gupta (65) of Chandigarh took tied third place at 20-under 260. Chowrasia’s round featured seven birdies and a bogey while Gupta had an eagle, four birdies and a bogey.

Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Singh Sandhu produced the best round of the tournament, a 10-under 60, to claim the tied seventh place at 18-under 262. Yuvraj sank an eagle on the 18th from five feet and also made nine birdies and a bogey during his round.

Olympian Udayan Mane (64) was tied ninth at 17-under 263.