Wasim Khan one shot ahead after round three of Final Qualifying Stage, Aman Raj in second spot

Wasim Khan 

Kensville Golf & Country Club, Ahmedabad, January 21, 2016: Delhi’s Wasim Khan shot a two-over-74 to hold a one-shot lead in round three of the PGTI’s Final Qualifying Stage for the 2016 season being held at the Kensville Golf & Country Club near Ahmedabad. Khan’s three-day total stood at five-over-221. Patna-based amateur Aman Raj was placed one shot behind the leader in second position.

Wasim Khan (73-74-74), who was the overnight joint leader, made two birdies against four bogeys on Thursday to stay on top of the leaderboard despite the tough playing conditions. While Wasim sank a 25-feet birdie putt on the 11th and landed it within four feet for another birdie on the 14th, he also made two three-putts for the second day in succession to drop strokes on the 10th and 16th. Khan also missed par putts from within seven feet on the fourth and eighth to total four bogeys for the day.

“My driving and iron hitting has been very good this week but I have struggled with my chipping and putting. I’ve made three-putts on all three days so far. After being three-over through 10 holes today, I made a good comeback with birdies on 11 and 14 but the three-putt on 16 was a huge disappointment. However, it’s quite satisfying to be leading at this stage. The conditions have been tough this week so it would be great to shoot an under-par score in the final round. That would give me a good chance of ending up on top of the pack,” said Wasim.

Amateur Aman Raj made three birdies and five bogeys in his third round of 74 to be placed second at six-over-222.

Noida’s Raju Singh (75) was in third place at seven-over-223 and Bengaluru’s Syed Saqib Ahmed (77), the joint round two leader, occupied fourth place at eight-over-224.

At the end of round four on Friday, the top 35 players (+ ties) will earn full cards for the 2016 PGTI season.

PGTI Press release

Syed Saqib Ahmed and Wasim Khan are joint second round leaders at Final Qualifying Stage

Kensville Golf & Country Club, Ahmedabad, January 20, 2016: Bengaluru’s Syed Saqib Ahmed(76-71) and Delhi’s Wasim Khan (73-74) led the field after round two of the PGTI’s Final Qualifying Stage for the 2016 season being held at the Kensville Golf & Country Club near Ahmedabad. The two golfers were tied for the lead at three-over-147.

Wasim Khan made three birdies against a bogey and two double bogeys in his round of two-over-74.

“I played well today, hit it close on a number of occasions and also rolled in a long birdie putt on the ninth. However, the two three-putts that led to double bogeys were a big setback. It was a tough scoring day since the pin positions were tricky and it was also windy. It’s great to be the joint halfway leader. I’ll now look to finish the week with some good scores,” said Wasim.

Syed Saqib Ahmed, who shared the lead with Wasim, shot the day’s only sub-par round. His one-under-71 featured four birdies and three bogeys.

Patna-based amateur Aman Raj, Noida golfers Arjun Singh Chaudhri and Raju Singh and Gurgaon’s Kunaal Bhatia were all tied third at four-over-148.

The halfway cut fell at 15-over-159. The top eighty players made the cut.

At the end of round four on Friday, the top 35 players (+ ties) will earn full cards for the 2016 PGTI season.

PGTI Press release

Ravinder Tavel wins PGTI Qualifying School 2015 after playoff victory over Trishul Chinappa

Eagleton – The Golf Resort, Bangalore, January 23, 2015: Ravinder Tavel (69-72-69-70) of Chandimandir, Haryana, prevailed in a playoff against Bangalore’s Trishul Chinappa (75-69-69-67) to win the PGTI’s Final Qualifying Stage for the 2015 season being held at Eagleton - The Golf Resort near Bangalore. Tavel defeated Chinappa on the second playoff hole after the two golfers ended the regulation 72 holes with matching totals of eight-under-280.

At the end of round four, the top 38 players earned their cards for the 2015 PGTI season as five players were tied in 34th place at seven-over-295.

Ravinder Tavel, who started the day two shots off the lead in joint second, emerged a major contender for the title after a solid front-nine where he made three birdies and a lone bogey. The 21-year-old from the SEPTA Golf Course in Chandimandir, a town on the outskirts of Chandigarh, then had a mixed back-nine as he made three birdies and an equal number of bogeys. Tavel finally sealed the affair against Trishul Chinappa, who shot the day’s best of 67, on the second playoff hole. Ravinder sank a seven feet par putt to win the event even as Chinappa missed a short par putt.

Tavel, who played his first full season on the PGTI in 2014, said, “I had a good start with some long conversions on the front-nine. However, the back-nine wasn’t that great as I missed some short putts to drop bogeys. I was quite confident going into the playoff even though Trishul had shot a much better score than me in regulation play. I held my nerve to hole a tricky par putt on the second playoff hole to seal the win.”

He added, “I’m delighted with this effort. It gives me the self-belief to do well in the 2015 PGTI season. Now that I’m in the top 100 of the tour, I will get more playing opportunities and can thus improve my game. I’ve worked really hard to get here. I would like to thank my coach Mr. Rampal for helping me with my game and Maj. Gen. Jagmohan Singh Sidhu and Col. Alok Sood for supporting me when I needed it the most.”

Udayan Mane of the Eagleton Golf Resort, Bangalore, finished third at seven-under-281.

Chandigarh’s K Raghav Bhandari and Delhi’s Anirudh Goyal shared fourth place at three-under-285.

Delhi golfer Siddharth Semwal, who fired a 68 on Friday, claimed sixth place at one-under-287.

PGTI release

C Muniyappa wins the Final Stage of the 2014 PGTI Qualifying School

Pune, January 24, 2014: Bangalore’s C Muniyappa won the Final Stage of PGTI’s Qualifying School for 2014 at the Poona Club Golf Course in Pune. Muniyappa totaled eight-under-276 for the tournament after he posted a four-over-75 in the final round on Friday. Karan Taunk of Jamshedpur finished second at five-under-279.

The top 38 players from the Final Qualifying Stage earned full cards for the 2014 PGTI season.

C Muniyappa (63-66-72-75) had a forgettable front-nine as he dropped four shots on the first five holes and a double-bogey on the ninth against a lone birdie on the seventh. His back-nine turned out to be much better as he picked up birdie-eagle-birdie on the 10th, 11th and 12th and thereafter dropped three bogeys.

The 37-year-old Muniyappa, said, “This win is a huge morale-booster for me as I struggled with injury and form recently. I struck the ball well for a major part of the tournament and managed recoveries from some tough situations. I was off-target today with my tee shots but managed to hang in there till the end. I made a chip-in from 30 yards for eagle on the 11th.”

Karan Taunk’s (70-73-67-69) 69 in the final round helped him finish runner-up with a five-under-279 total.

Chandigarh-based American national Rahul Bakshi was a further three strokes behind in third place.

Photo caption: C Muniyappa receives the trophy from Mr. M P Bharucha, Captain, Poona Club Golf Course. 

Muniyappa eight shots clear of the field despite a sedate 72 in round three

Pune, January 23, 2014: C Muniyappa (63-66-72) of Bangalore returned a sedate one-over-72 to stay eight shots clear of the field in round three of the PGTI’s Final Qualifying Stage for the 2014 season being held at the Poona Club Golf Course in Pune. Muniyappa’s total score now reads 12-under-201. American national Rahul Bakshi carded a three-under-68 to be placed second at four-under-209.

Muniyappa’s third round saw him stumble with two double-bogeys and a bogey against his four birdies. The 37-year-old pulled his tee shot into the trees on the second resulting in a double-bogey. His other double-bogey on the fifth came as a result of his second shot landing out of bounds. Muniyappa limited the damage by converting two 10-feet birdie putts on the fourth and sixth. His back-nine was better as he made birdies on the 11th and 18th and a bogey on the 13th.

“The two errors on the front-nine resulted in a loss of four shots. I was a little unlucky on the fifth where I hit a good shot but it rebounded off a tree and went out of bounds. I missed a lot putts today. I failed to convert four putts from a distance of three feet. Nonetheless, I still enjoy a substantial lead and the performance in the first two rounds has given me a lot of confidence for the coming season,” said Muniyappa.

Chandigarh-based Rahul Bakshi (67-74-68) made four birdies and a bogey in his third round to be placed second.

Karan Taunk of Jamshedpur fired an eagle on the par-4 15th besides three birdies and a bogey during his round of four-under-67. Taunk is currently placed third at three-under-210.

At the end of round four on Friday, the top 38 players will earn full cards for the 2014 PGTI season.

Press release

C Muniyappa equals course record, leads in round one of Final Qualifying Stage

C Muniyappa of Bangalore

Pune, January 21, 2014: C Muniyappa of Bangalore equalled the course record with a sizzling eight-under-63 to establish a three-stroke lead in round one of the PGTI’s Final Qualifying Stage for the 2014 season being held at the Poona Club Golf Course in Pune. K Raghav Bhandari of Chandigarh shot a five-under-66 to be placed second.

Muniyappa equaled the course record, previously set by Vijay Kumar, Chikkarangappa and the late S Madaiah, with his opening round of 63 that included nine birdies and a bogey. The Bangalore lad, a former Indian Open champion, drove the green on the ninth and 17th, both par-4s, to set up birdies. He also converted a 15-footer for birdie on the eighth.

Muniyappa said, “I was in great form with the driver. I capitalized on two of the shorter par-4s by driving the greens. I just kept taking my chances today. I’m almost back to full recovery from my back injury which had troubled me over a long period of time. Equaling the course record in the first round is a huge morale-booster.”

Chandigarh’s K Raghav Bhandari fired a five-under-66 that featured six birdies and a bogey to be placed second.

Rahul Bakshi, another Chandigarh-based golfer, was a stroke behind Bhandari in third position.

Saurabh Bhaduri of Pune is in joint fourth place at one-under-70 along with Delhi’s Gulfam, Chandigarh’s KPS Sekhon, Raja Sardar of Kolkata and Jamshedpur’s Karan Taunk.

The top 80 players (+ ties) will make the cut after round two of the Final Qualifying Stage. At the end of round four only the top 38 players will earn full cards for the 2014 PGTI season.