Sports News | Sandhu Continues Love Affair with Tollygunge Club, Triumphs by Two Shots

Kolkata, Feb 14 (PTI) Chandigarh's Yuvraj Sandhu continued his love affair with Tollygunge Club as he triumphed by two shots at the Rs 1 crore TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship 2025 here on Friday.

Yuvraj (63-61-68-68), who was in the lead in all three previous rounds, shot a final round of two-under 68 to emerge wire-to-wire champion with a total score of 20-under 260 in the PGTI season opener.

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The 27-year-old Sandhu thus bagged his second title at Tollygunge Club where he had previously won in 2022.

Bangladesh's Jamal Hossain (65-62-66-69), who posed a serious challenge to Yuvraj on the back-nine on Friday, produced a 69 on the last day to finish runner-up at a total of 18-under 262.

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Bengaluru-based Rahil Gangjee, who originally hails from Kolkata, carded a 70 on day four to take third place at 14-under 266.

Dhruv Sheoran of Gurugram fired the day's best score of 63 to move up 26 spots and end the week in tied fifth place at 12-under 268.

SSP Chawrasia (68) was the highest-placed among the Kolkata-based professionals as he finished tied eighth at 11-under 269.

Sixteen-year-old Kolkata boy Anshul Mishra, the only amateur to make the cut, won the trophy for the best amateur as he closed the week in tied 24th at five-under 275.

Sandhu, who enjoyed a slim one-shot lead heading into the final round, built on his advantage with a strong front-nine where he delivered three birdies from a range of eight to 12 feet at the cost of a lone bogey.

He seemed to be cruising to victory after he made birdie on the 11th and a great up and down for par on the 12th.

But Sandhu had some late jitters when he found the hazard on the 15th and dropped a bogey even as Jamal collected a couple of birdies to narrow the lead to one shot.

However, Sandhu roared back with a timely 12-feet birdie conversion on the 16th to extend his lead to two shots.

Sandhu's bogey on the final hole couldn't stop him from marching to his seventh PGTI title and overall 10th professional win. Sandhu took home the winning purse worth Rs 15 lakh, and now leads the 2025 PGTI Order of Merit.

"It was another up and down day for me but all the work I did with my mental coach Rabia Gill recently seemed to have paid off as I was in control of the situation and stayed calm through the week," Sandhu said.

"The tough up and down for par on the 12th was a momentum-changer for me and then the long birdie conversion on the 16th was another key moment as it gave me a two-shot lead.

"Jamal really challenged me over the last 36 holes but I think it's just the comfort level that I have at Tolly that helped me stay ahead and bring out my best. I really like the warmth at this club and the food here.

"Last time I won here at Tolly, my career had a jump-start. Now, I'm hoping this win can once again give me a lift before I head to the Asian Tour," he added.

Jamal, also a former winner at Tollygunge Club, had a birdie and a double-bogey on the front-nine but then emerged as a contender when he made a charge with birdies on the 11th, 13th and 15th.

Jamal, however, couldn't make the final push since he managed just two pars and a bogey thereafter.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)