Rampaging Mukesh Kumar cruises to 11-shot win at Chennai Open

Chennai, October 14, 2016: The seasoned Mukesh Kumar cruised to a comfortable 11-shot win at the inaugural Express Exclusive presents Chennai Open Golf Championship being played at the Madras Gymkhana Club (MGC) Golf Course at Guindy.

The golfer from Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, completed his total domination at the MGC on Friday thanks to a final round of four-under-66 that saw him post a grand tournament tally of 20-under-260.

Honey Baisoya of Delhi finished runner-up at nine-under-271 as a result of his last round of two-under-68 at the Rs. 40 lakh event.

Mukesh Kumar (61-68-65-66), who began the day with an almost unassailable lead of nine shots, consolidated on his lead with two birdies against a lone bogey on the front-nine in round four.

With the title all but sealed, Mukesh then went on a rampage with a hat-trick of birdies from the 10th to the 12th. He then recovered well from the bushes and went on to sink his longest putt of the day, a 25-footer, for birdie on the 14th.

It was then a matter of formality as Mukesh finally registered an astounding 11-stroke victory despite a bogey on the last hole.

Mukesh, who hails from the small cantonment town of Mhow which is known for its various military institutions, has set many a record with his latest victory.

While he is well past 100 titles on the Indian domestic circuit, Mukesh’s win in Chennai handed him a record 18thtitle on the PGTI. Delhi’s Ashok Kumar is next best on the PGTI with 13 wins against his name.

Mukesh, who is currently 51 years and two months of age, also broke his own record of being the oldest player to win on the PGTI. He set the record with his last win on the PGTI in December 2015 when he was 50 years and four months old.

Besides it was also Mukesh’s third straight win at the MGC. He had won the previous two PGTI events staged at the MGC in 2008 and 2009. Incidentally, on Friday, Mukesh matched his 11-stroke victory margin from the 2008 event at MGC.

Mukesh said, “I’m delighted to have bagged my first win of the year. This gets me into contention for the Rolex Ranking title. I had narrowly lost out in the Rolex Ranking last year, having finished second. My first round of 61 had set up the tournament nicely for me.

“Today, it was just a matter of hanging in there. I had planned to play safe on the first six holes in order to keep the errors out and I managed to do that. I had a good day with the putter as I converted three birdies from a distance of 15 to 25 feet.

He added, “I love coming back to the MGC every time as this course is almost like a home course to me. I’ve won here so many times and am quite familiar with the course conditions. The size and speed of the greens is the same as my home course in Mhow. I must compliment the officials and staff of the MGC for providing us with excellent playing conditions this week. I look forward to playing in Chennai soon in the future, especially at the MGC.”

  

Mukesh has now moved up from 15th place to sixth position in the Rolex Ranking as his winning purse of Rs. 6,00,000 took his season’s earnings to Rs. 13,62,783.

Honey Baisoya (67-66-70-68) hung on to his overnight second place with a two-under-68 on day four. It was Baisoya’s career-best finish and also his fourth top-10 of the year.

The 20-year-old Honey, who struck an eagle, a birdie and a bogey in round four, moved up from 17th to 12th place in the Rolex Ranking as a result of his second place finish.

Bengalureans Udayan Mane and Mari Muthu R took a share of third place at six-under-274 along with Delhi’s Shamim Khan and Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah. Mari Muthu registered his career-best finish.

Bengaluru’s C Muniyappa, Gurgaon’s Veer Ahlawat and Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow were a further shot back in tied seventh.

C Arul (70-73-73-72), the only Chennai player to make the cut, shot a two-over-72 on Friday to end up in tied 40th at eight-over-288.

Rd 4 Final Scores:

260: Mukesh Kumar (61-68-65-66)

271: Honey Baisoya (67-66-70-68)

274: Udayan Mane (67-70-69-68), Mari Muthu R (68-70-68-68), Md Zamal Hossain Mollah (69-66-69-70), Shamim Khan (70-67-68-69)        

Prize Presentation Picture Caption:

Mukesh Kumar (3rd from left) receives the cheque from (left to right) Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, Director, PGTI, Mrs. Kavita Singhania, Managing Director, Express Group and Mr. G Suresh, Captain, Madras Gymkhana Club Golf Annexe (Guindy)

PGTI release and photo