Manav Jaini bags Jaypee Greens Open title

Manav Jaini (C) receives the winning cheque from Mrs. Vidya Basarkod, President - Sales & Marketing, Jaypee Greens (L) and Mr Uttam Singh Mundy, Director, PGTI (R) at Greater Noida on April 26, 2013.

Greater Noida, April 26, 2013: Manav Jaini of Delhi scripted a remarkable turnaround with a three-under-69 in the final round to win the Jaypee Greens Open 2013 at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort in Greater Noida. Jaini bagged his second professional title with a total score of 13-under-275 at the Rs. 20 lakh event. Mukesh Kumar shot a one-under-71 in round four to finish runner-up with a total of 11-under-277.

Manav Jaini (68-67-71-69) had a slow start to the day as he bogeyed the par-3 third where his tee shot got stuck in the back lip of the bunker. The 29-year-old then had consecutive birdies on the fourth and fifth where he sank putts from six feet and 10 feet respectively. Mukesh Kumar (72-67-67-71) in the meantime picked up birdies on the second, fifth and 11th to establish a two-stroke lead over Jaini after 11 holes.

Manav, the overnight joint leader along with Mukesh, got back in the game with a 12-feet birdie putt on the 12th to reduce the deficit to one shot. The big turnaround happened on the par-5 15th hole where the lead changed hands in favour of Jaini after he made birdie and Mukesh dropped a bogey. Jaini, who had hit his rescue to perfection all week, produced another excellent approach shot with the club to hit the green in two shots on the 15th. He followed that up with a two-putt for birdie. Forty-seven-year-old Mukesh on the other hand found the water hazard on the 15th and thus dropped a shot.

Jaini held his nerves to make pars on the last three holes to seal the title while Mukesh fell further back with a bogey on the final hole.

Jaini, who won his only previous title at a match play event in 2011, said, “I’m thrilled to have won my first stroke play event. I now have wins in both formats stroke play as well as match play. The win came after a long gap of two years even though I’ve been in contention on several occasions during this period.

“I kept it simple through the day. I told myself that I have to land it in the right spots and just focus since I was playing well. The key on the 15thwas to hit the fairway with the tee shot and follow that up with an equally good approach shot. I managed to do that with a good drive and an excellent rescue (hybrid club) approach shot to find the green in two and set up a birdie opportunity. There were some nerves after I took the lead on the 15th but I didn’t look at the scores too much from there on and just looked to hit it well,” said Jaini.

Jaini has now climbed from 24th position to sixth place on the Rolex Rankings while Mukesh continues to lead the rankings.

Bangalore’s M Dharma (71-68-69-70) finished third at 10-under-278.

Mandeo Singh Pathania of the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort, Greater Noida, secured tied fourth place along with Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta at eight-under-280.

Delhi’s Pratap Atwal, the lone amateur to make the cut, won the trophy for the best performance by an amateur. Atwal claimed overall tied 34thplace with a total of six-over-294.

Jaini: Special feeling to beat Mukesh

Manav Jaini cherished his title triumph all the more as he upstaged one of the giants of Indian golf Mukesh Kumar en route to victory. Jaini turned the tables on Mukesh, a winner of more than 100 titles, in the final stretch on Friday.

“It’s not every day that one beats Mukesh after coming from behind on the final day. Mukesh is usually unrelenting when he is in the lead especially in the final stages of a tournament. It’s a special feeling to have beaten a champion golfer like him despite the odds being stacked against me. This win will do wonders for my confidence,” said an elated Jaini.

Press release

Mukesh Kumar, Manav Jaini hold advantage ahead of final round

Mukesh Kumar 

Greater Noida, April 25, 2013: Mhow golfer Mukesh Kumar and Delhi’s Manav Jaini hold the joint lead after round three of the Jaypee Greens Open 2013 being played at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort in Greater Noida. Mukesh and Manav have identical scores of 10-uner-206 after three rounds. Harendra Gupta of Chandigarh and Mandeo Singh Pathania of Greater Noida are one shot behind the joint leaders in tied third place.

Mukesh Kumar (72-67-67) climbed from overnight tied fifth into the joint lead as a result of his brilliant round of five-under-67 which also happened to be the joint best round of the day. Mukesh was on fire from the word go on Thursday as he sank four straight birdies from the second through to the fifth. His tee shot on the par-3 third ended up five feet from the pin. The 47-year-old then played some outstanding shots with the wedges that landed within four feet on the fourth and fifth holes.

Mukesh found the bunker on the eighth and as a result dropped his lone bogey of the day. However, he recovered well from the bunker on the 15th to earn a birdie. The seasoned campaigner holed a 15-footer for his final birdie of the day on the 17th.

“I hit it extremely close today and enjoyed a golden phase from the second to the fifth where everything landed within five feet. The third shot from 130 yards out on the fourth hole ended up just four feet short of the flag. That was easily the best shot of the day. My confidence is high going into the final round as I’m playing some solid golf having dropped just one bogey in the last two rounds,” said Mukesh.

Manav Jaini (68-67-71) held on to his overnight joint lead with a resolute one-under-71 on Thursday. Jaini had an ordinary start as he bogeyed the first hole for the third day in succession. He found the bunker on the first and missed an up and down from there. Manav then salvaged his round by converting 15-footers for birdies on the sixth and 12th. He had a good par save on the 15th where he made a chip-putt from the front edge.

Jaini said, “I’ve had a great week so far as I’ve been striking it well and have dropped just three bogeys in three days. Unfortunately, I couldn’t land it close enough today. All my putts had a chance but most of them rolled past the hole. I’ll have to play with a lot of intensity in order to have a chance in the final round.”

Harendra Gupta (67-71-69) and Mandeo Singh Pathania (67-68-72) are in tied third place with matching totals of nine-under-207.

M Dharma of Bangalore is a further stroke back in fifth place.

Manav, Mandeo emerge joint leaders at the halfway stage

 Manav Jaini 

Mandeo Singh Pathania 

Greater Noida, April 24, 2013: Delhi’s Manav Jaini and Mandeo Singh Pathania of Greater Noida are the joint leaders at the halfway stage of the Jaypee Greens Open 2013 being played at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort in Greater Noida. Jaini and Pathania have a total score of nine-uner-135 after two rounds. Sandeep Syal of Chennai is one shot behind the joint leaders in third place.

The cut was declared at three-over-147. Fifty-three professionals and one amateur made the cut.

Manav Jaini (68-67), who was overnight tied third, started his round with a bogey on the first and then came roaring back with birdies on the fourth and fifth as he landed it within eight feet on both occasions. Jaini’s unbelievable third shot from 90 yards out on the par-5 12th ended up in the hole and thus earned him an eagle. Manav, a winner on the PGTI in 2011, added two more birdies to his card after landing his approach shots within seven feet on the 13th and 15th to end up with a five-under-67.

“It was one of my best efforts of the season so far. I hit it close through the day and sank all putts. My round got going after consecutive birdies on the fourth and fifth. I would have landed it within a few inches on the 12th as well but the ball rolled in for an eagle and that was a bonus,” said Jaini.

Mandeo Singh Pathania (67-68), who belongs to the Jaypee Greens Golf Course, maintained his overnight joint lead with a four-under-68 on Wednesday. Pathania, who started from the 10th, had four birdies and two bogeys on his first-nine. He landed his second shot within five feet of the pin for birdie on the 13th and found the green in two to set up a birdie on the par-5 15th. Mandeo then made three birdies against a bogey on his second-nine. He made chip-putts for birdies on the second and fifth and sank a 12-footer for birdie on the seventh.

Pathania said, “It was another good day with the driver and I also made some brilliant chip-putts. A couple of long birdie putts rolled in for me on the 16th and seventh. I’d say I capitalized on the par-5s today as I made birdies on three of the four par-5s.”

Sandeep Syal (68-69) of Chennai is placed third at seven-under-137 while Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta (67-71) is a further shot back in fourth place.  

Mandeo Singh Pathania and Harendra Gupta share the first round lead at Jaypee Greens Open

Mandeo Singh Pathania

Greater Noida, April 23, 2013: Mandeo Singh Pathania of Greater Noida and Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta fired scores of five-under-67 to hold the joint lead after round one of the Jaypee Greens Open at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort on Tuesday. Manav Jaini of Delhi and Chennai’s Sandeep Syal are a shot behind the joint leaders in tied third place.

Mandeo Singh Pathania, playing at his home course, came up with a fine round of 67 that featured seven birdies and two bogeys. He collected four birdies on the first five holes as he landed it within six feet for birdie on the first and third and narrowly missed an eagle putt on the second. On the back-nine Mandeo dropped bogeys on the 11th and 13th but more than made up thanks to birdies on the 12th, 16th and 18th. Pathania, a winner on the PGTI in 2010, sank 15 feet birdie putts on the 16th and 18th.

“This is my best round in the current season so far. So I’m pretty thrilled with this start. I drove it really well and complimented that with some solid putting. I found the green in two on the par-5 second and almost pulled it off again on the par-5 12th. It was also great to convert a couple of long birdie putts towards the end. This is my home course and I feel I have the advantage of local knowledge here,” said Pathania.

Harendra Gupta shared the first round honours with Pathania as a result of his terrific round that included an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys. Gupta bogeyed the sixth and ninth and birdied the seventh to make the turn at one-over. He then turned it on with a six-under on the back-nine. Harendra landed it within four feet for birdie on the 10th and followed that up with another birdie on the 12th before finding the par-5 15th green in two shots to bag an eagle from 10 feet. Gupta ended the day on a high with birdies on the last two holes. He sank a 25-footer for birdie on the 17th.

“I was not playing too great on the front-nine, but then really turned it around on the back-nine. I was landing it close and also made a long putt on the 17th. The eagle was the highlight of the day. The scoring conditions aren’t easy as the rough is up and the course is one of the longest in the country. Nonetheless, I’m quite satisfied with my opening round,” said Gupta, a winner of seven professional titles.

Both Sandeep Syal and Manav Jaini came up with five birdies and a bogey on day one to be placed joint third with scores of four-under-68.

Noida’s Pradeep Kumar is placed fifth at three-under-69.     

All the best Shubhankar and Abhishek

Gurgaon-based rookies Shubhankar Sharma and Abhishek Kuhar, both of whom turned professional earlier this year, are currently engaged with the unenviable task of coping with the pressures of professional golf as well as managing their school studies.

Sixteen-year-old Shubhankar and seventeen-year-old Abhishek, currently two of the youngest professionals on the PGTI, are yet to give their 12thClass Board exams. While Shubhankar has already appeared for two papers and will give the remaining three by August this year, Abhishek will appear for his exams in October this year.

The two, students at the National Institute of Open Schooling in Noida, have made a decent start to their professional careers having already posted two top-30 finishes each in the 2013 season so far. The duo has also got off to a solid start at the Jaypee Greens Open with Abhishek shooting a one-under-71 to be placed   after round one and Shubhankar firing an even-par-72 to be placed     .

“I want to make a mark in professional golf as well as excel in my studies. Once my exams are around the corner the focus will be on my studies. However, I will still find time to practice every day,” said Shubhankar.

So here’s wishing both of them ‘best of luck’ for their Board exams as well as their professional careers.