Mithun Perera fires solid 70 to bag 11th TATA Open title

Jamshedpur, November 25, 2012: Sri Lanka’s Mithun Perera came home the winner at the 11th TATA Open after firing a final round of one-under-70. Perera, who totaled 11-under-274 for the tournament, finished one stroke ahead of Delhi’s Vinod Kumar.

Mithun Perera (65-72-67-70), the overnight leader, had a good start to the day as he birdied the second (par-5) after landing his chip from the bunker within a couple of inches of the flag. He went on to make pars on all the other holes. Perera, who has now won three professional titles, made some amazing par saves on the seventh and 14^th holes. He made outstanding chip-putts on the seventh and 14th.

“I hit it really well today. I was solid through the day and played regulation golf. My short-game was good in the final round, especially the putting. This win is a result of my hard-work and dedication. I’m now looking forward to ending the season with an equally good performance at the season-ending event next week,” said Perera, who has now climbed from seventh place to fifth position on the 2012 Rolex Rankings.

Vinod Kumar (68-67-70-70), the defending champion, finished runner-up after firing a one-under-70 in the final round. Vinod’s round featured four birdies and three bogeys and helped him end the tournament with a total of 10-under-275.

Om Prakash Chouhan (69-68-68-71) of Mhow finished a further stroke back in third place.

Rashid Khan of Delhi and Mhow’s Mukesh Kumar shared fourth place at eight-under-277. Rashid has now climbed from second position to first place on the 2012 Rolex Rankings.

 

Karan Taunk of Jamshedpur, the lone amateur to make the cut, won the trophy for the best performance by an amateur. Taunk was placed tied 31st at four-over-289.

Mr. H M Nerurkar, MD, TATA Steel, said, “It’s good to see a large turnout for the day. The last four days have been great for golf in Jamshedpur with lot of international participation and will definitely help increase the golfing standards of the city. I would like to congratulate Mithun Perera from Sri Lanka for winning the 11th TATA Open.”

On Sunday the entire field played nine holes each on both the courses - Beldih as well as Golmuri. While one half of the field teed off from Beldih, the other half began its round from Golmuri. Thirty golfers with the best scores at the end of round three teed off from Golmuri and finished at Beldih. The par for the combined courses was 71.

Picture caption: Mithun Perera (third from left) receives the winner's cheque of the 11th TATA Open from Mr. H M Nerurkar, MD, TATA Steel (extreme left), Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, Director, PGTI (second from left) and Mr. Partha Sengupta, VP (Raw Materials and CSI) and Captain, Beldih Golf Club (extreme right).

Press release