Chiragh Kumar wins Sri Lanka Ports Authority Open title

Chiragh Kumar receives winner's cheque and trophy from Dr. Priath Bandu Wickrama, Chairman, Sri Lanka Ports Authority in Colombo on April 19, 2013. .

Chiragh Kumar

Colombo, April 19, 2013: The Sri Lanka Ports Authority Open 2013 had a gripping finish after four days of top class golf at The Royal Colombo Golf Club. When the dust had settled and the final putt dropped, it was Delhi’s Chiragh Kumar who took home the spoils with a stunning one shot ‘come from behind’ victory in the biggest prize money event ever to be staged by the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) in Sri Lanka.

Chiragh Kumar (72-66-67-68) carded a three-under-68 in the last round for an overall final score of 11-under-273 to bag the first prize of USD 11315. He finished one shot clear of local star Mithun Perera (69-67-64-74) who ended the week with a total score of 10-under-274.

Chiragh, who won his fourth professional title on Friday, made birdies on the second, seventh, 12th, 14th and 15th and bogeys on the third and ninth.

Chiragh said, “I’m thrilled to win my fourth PGTI title, even more so because it is here in Sri Lanka. There are a lot of people to thank who have supported me over the years, including my parents, coach and in particular my sponsor Mr. Dilip Thomas. So a big thank you to them.

“I need to thank Sri Lanka Ports Authority for their support to golf in Sri Lanka. Without them and other sponsors, events like this can’t happen. Coming back to my round today, I did not expect to win when I came to the course this morning. Mithun had a clear lead over the field and was looking like the outright favourite. I missed some short putts till the 11th but my momentum came back with the birdie on the 12th. At that stage, I thought some more birdies may secure second place for me. Unfortunately for Mithun, he dropped four shots on the last six holes and that helped me. Playing conditions were good today as the course was in excellent condition.”

Reacting to his hole-in-one in round two, Chiragh said, “I just hit a simple shot and the next thing I saw was that the ball ended up in the hole. I guess no one can plan such a shot.”

Local favorite and overnight leader Mithun Perera failed to push home his advantage with a score of three-over-74 in the final round. Perera made two birdies against five bogeys on Friday.

“I cannot say much what went wrong, obviously my putting was not good today and I missed some close putts. I could collect only two birdies in my round against the five bogeys most of which came on the back-nine,” said Mithun.

Mukesh Kumar of Mhow finished third with a total score of nine-under-275.

Honours for the best round of the day went to one of India’s leading youngsters Khalin Joshi of Bangalore, who shot a six-under-65 to finish tied seventh, five shots behind the winner.

The trophy for the best performance by an amateur went to local rising star Vijitha Bandara, who was the only amateur to make the cut. He finished overall tied 23rd with a total score of one-over-285.