Written by: Anjali Mishra

 

After a pulsating day of ups and downs, Olympian Udayan Mane emerged victorious in the nerve-wracking battle of the final round of three-under 69 to win the PGTI's season-ending Tata Steel Tour Championship by a single shot.

 

Udayan won the tournament and it's his second victory in Jamshedpur which also helped him win the PGTI Order of Merit for the 2020-21 season.

 

Udayan Mane, winner of PGTI tournament

 

Mane (68-66-67-69) had six birdies, a bogey, and a double-bogey in round four to finish with a tournament tally of 18-under 270 at the season's flagship event, which was played across the Beldih and Golmuri Golf Courses in Jamshedpur and was worth Rs. 1.5 crore in prize money. Mane said, “My mind was racing at the start of the day but I just calmed myself down by telling myself that it’s just another round of golf with my good pals Shubhankar and Veer and we’re just going to have a shootout.

 

Rashid khan - 2nd Position

 

Rashid Khan made an eagle and seven birdies in round four, gave himself an opportunity to have a shot at the title and was even staring at a record fourth PGTI Order of Merit crown as his playoff with Udayan was looking possible at one stage and managed to come on 2nd position. A bogey on the 17th and an erratic drive on the 18th gave Mane some anxious moments as clubhouse leader Rashid Khan was just one shot behind Udayan at that stage.

 

Shubhankar Sharma tied at T4

 

Even as Mane’s closest rivals Shubhankar and Veer Ahlawat dropped a few shots on the back-nine to slip out of contention, Udayan emerged the outright favourite after his terrific up and down birdie from the bunker on the 16th gave him a two-shot cushion at the top.