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Day 1

March 7th 2010, Panchkula, Haryana: Chandigarh’s Sujjan Singh scripted a remarkable play-off win against Sri Lanka’s Anura Rohana on the final day of the Aircel-PGTI Players Championship presented by Panchkula Golf Club. Sujjan lifted his maiden professional trophy after making par on the first play-off hole (18th). Rohana, on the other hand, missed a 10 feet putt for par in the play-off.

Sujjan Singh (R) receiving the winner's cheque

Sujjan Singh (72-72-66-71) and Anura Rohana (71-68-69-73) had earlier ended the regulation 72 holes as joint leaders with identical scores of seven under 281.

Sujjan rounded off an unbelievable week on Sunday. He was tied 12th at the halfway stage and had a nine-down on the par four seventh hole in round two. But the 29-year-old showed tremendous resilience by bouncing back with scores of 66 and 71 over the next two days.

Sujjan, placed fourth at the beginning of round four, was one over for the day and four shots behind the leader Rohana after the 11th. The Chandigarh-based professional who had made four bogeys against three birdies until then, fashioned a miraculous turnaround with birdies on the 12th and 17th even as Anura stumbled with bogeys on the 14th and 15th where he hit some ordinary drives.

Sujjan made a great chip to set up a birdie on the 12th and then followed that up with a 20 feet birdie putt from the fringe on the 17th. A brilliant putt from 25 feet helped him make par on the 18th and resulted in a play-off as Rohana also made par on the final hole.

Sujjan was in trouble when he hit his drive into the rough during the play-off. However, he pulled a rabbit out of the hat and swung the match in his favour with an astonishing third shot (lob wedge) from 65 yards that landed six inches from the hole. Rohana lost out in the play-off as he three-putted from 60 feet for a bogey.

“This is like a dream come true. It will take time to sink in. This tournament was like a rollercoaster ride for me since it had too many ups and downs. I dedicate this win to my parents,” said a beaming Sujjan, who had also finished runner-up in Bangladesh earlier this year.

He added, “I kept my calm throughout the week and was very patient. That’s how I managed to recover from many tough situations. I knew I had to make par on the 18th during the play-off and I hung in there despite finding myself in the rough. The third shot was just unbelievable. I also made a very crucial 20-footer for birdie on the 17th. Keeping the ball in play was the key for me this week.

“The years of hard work now seem to be coming together. I think my stint in the US last year has helped me a great deal. I played some professional events there and have benefited a lot from that experience. I also worked on my game during the winter and that too has had the desired effect.”

Rohana, who made an eagle and three bogeys in the final round, said, “This is my best finish on the Aircel-PGTI so far and I’ll take a lot of heart from that. I had my chances after I made eagle on the eighth but just could not drive home the advantage as a result of some average driving.”

Sujjan’s incredible come-from-behind victory propelled him from fourth to first place in the Rolex Rankings 2010 (Order of Merit) as he collected the winner’s cheque of Rs. 6,46,600. Anura also climbed from 34th to third on the Rolex Rankings 2010.

Harmeet Kahlon of Chandigarh and Kolkata’s Raju Ali Mollah finished a distant tied third at three under 285 while Feroz Ali Mollah was fifth at one under 287.

Mukesh Kumar ended tied 10th at two over 290 and Gaurav Ghei claimed tied 13th at four over 292.