Rashid Khan’s (61-69-69-71) wire-to-wire success was all the
more sweet as it saw him put behind the ghosts of his playoff loss at the
SAIL-SBI Open last year at the hands of compatriot Anirban Lahiri.
Khan became the 18th Indian professional to win an
international tournament after tapping in his birdie on the first playoff hole
(18th) as Siddikur could only make par.
“It feels awesome. It’s my home course and winning here is
special. It’s amazing,” said a jubilant Khan, who carded a final round
one-under-71 that featured three birdies and two bogeys.
“I lost this event here last year. It was important and the
way I started on the first day with a 61, it was an amazing week. I don’t
like playoffs. I played seven play-offs in the last 14 months and I won only
three. It’s a lottery.”
The wiry Khan had trailed PGTI member Siddikur by one shot
with two holes remaining in regulation play but produced a magical birdie on
the 17th to draw level. Both players birdied the 18th hole under
immense pressure to take the tournament into a playoff.
Khan’s aggressive approach paid off when he produced an
imperious three wood approach shot from 269 yards out which landed on the apron
before taking two more shots to defeat Siddikur, who missed his birdie chance
from about 15 feet.
“On 17, I actually hit a bad shot, hit it right, but I don’t
know how my ball pitched over the bunker and rolled to one and a half feet to
the flag. I was shocked. It was really lucky,” said Khan.
“I had to be aggressive in the playoff. I had to go for it.
I took out the driver and hit a good shot in the middle of the fairway and then
had about 269 yards to the flag. I went with a three wood and that was one of
the best shots I’ve hit,” he added.
When the third round was completed this morning, Siddikur
trailed Khan by two but soon tied the Indian youngster with an opening eagle.
His hopes of a second title at the fabled Delhi course, where he won the Indian Open in
November, faded as he missed his long birdie chance. “Rashid deserves the win.
He’s a talented player. I saw his game and he’s a really good player,” said
Siddikur, who finished fourth on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit last season.
“It was a good play-off. I played my game but maybe, I
should have played driver. I used my three wood which wasn’t sufficient
although I have used three wood in the first four rounds and made birdie every
day. But it wasn’t the case in the playoff.”
Two-time defending champion Anirban Lahiri, who was bidding to become the first
man to win three straight titles at the same tournament, closed with a
disappointing 74 for tied eighth place at nine-under-279 along with Sri Lanka ’s
Mithun Perera (72) and countrymen Jyoti Randhawa (69) and Abhijit Singh Chadha
(69).
Mr. Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI, “Hearty congratulations
to Rashid for his first Asian Tour win at the SAIL-SBI Open 2014. I am sure
this will be a huge boost for the young Indian players looking to play on
higher tours across the globe. We wish Rashid all success for the future.”
Anirban Lahiri, who beat Rashid in a playoff to win the
title in 2013, said, “This would be a life-changing moment for Rashid. It was
great to see him win a tough encounter on the final day. He has done well to
come back strongly from the playoff loss last year.”
PGTI Press release
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