Saturday, November 10, 2012

Mukesh Kumar romps home with an impressive six-stroke margin


Pune, November 10, 2012: Mukesh Kumar of Mhow romped home to an impressive six-stroke victory at the PGTI Players Championship presented by Poona Club Ltd. Mukesh shot a three-under-68 in the final round on Saturday to end up with a tournament total of 15-under-269. Kapil Kumar of Delhi finished second at nine-under-275.

Mukesh Kumar (68-67-66-68), the overnight leader, had an ideal start to the final round as he birdied the first and third holes from five feet and 10 feet respectively. The golfer from Mhow found the water on the fifth that led to his first bogey of the day. Mukesh, however, opened up a sizeable lead on his nearest rivals Rajiv Datar, Kapil Kumar and Shankar Das, with birdies on the 10th and 14th.

Mukesh’s bunker shot landed within a couple of feet of the pin on the 10th and his approach shot on the 14th stopped one foot from the hole. The bogey on the 16th was not enough to stop Mukesh from running away with the title. The seasoned professional landed his chip within two feet of the pin to seal victory with a birdie on the 18th.

Mukesh’s victory in Pune earned him his second title of the season and catapulted him from sixth to fourth position on the 2012 Rolex Rankings. This also happened to be his 13th win on the PGTI, the maximum by any golfer on the tour.

The 47-year-old Mukesh said, “My hitting and chipping were spot-on today. I hit 15 greens in regulation and was very consistent. I had the momentum when I made two birdies on the first three holes. I just did not leave any chances from there on. The second half of the year is turning out to be very profitable for me. After a poor start to the
year, I have managed to turn things around with my improved putting.”

Kapil Kumar (70-66-71-68) bagged his best finish as a professional after he ended the tournament as runner-up at nine-under-275. Kapil’s final round featured four birdies and a bogey. The highlights of Kapil’s round were a chip-in from the bunker for birdie on the sixth and a 25-feet putt for birdie on the 12th.

Shankar Das of Kolkata ended third at eight-under-276 while Sri Lanka’s Mithun Perera was a further shot back in fourth place.

Rajiv Datar, who finished fifth with a total of six-under-278, was the best performer among all the Pune-based professionals in the field.

Umesh Tatkare of Pune won the trophy for the best performance by an amateur after he finished tied 33rd at six-over-290.


Photo caption: Mukesh Kumar (extreme right) receiving the winner's cheque from Mr. N S Chowdhary, Captain, Poona Club Golf Course (3rd from left) and Mr US Mundy, Director, PGTI (2nd from left), in Pune on November 10, 2012.

Press release

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