(L-R) Amandeep Johl – CEO PGTI, Kapil Dev – President PGTI, Winner Shaurya Bhattacharya, Shri Arun Sao – Deputy Chief Minister, Chhattisgarh, and Mr. Rahul Mehta – Owner, Victorious Choice (extreme right)
The PGTI visited a much-needed new tournament venue as the recently opened Fairway Golf & Lake Resort in Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh hosted a professional event for the first time. With PGTI looking for fresh young stars, 2024 Emerging Player of the Year Shaurya Bhattacharya’s 2nd career pro win by 5 shots was welcome at the inaugural INR 1 crore SECL Chhattisgarh Open. The 22-year-old from Delhi closed with a bogey-free six-under 63 in the final round, finishing at a low-scoring tournament total of 27-under 249, which is surely the lowest winning total in PGTI history!
Designed by Pacific Coast Design from Australia with Project Management by SGDC, the newly-constructed golf course in Naya Raipur saw players capitalise on the risk/reward opportunities in the bold landscape interspersed with bunkers, broad fairways, and several water bodies to generate consistently low scores over the course of four days.
Bhattacharya (64-61-61-63), the overnight leader by five strokes, maintained his advantage throughout the final day. His win earned him a cheque of INR 15 lakh and propelled him to second in the TATA Steel PGTI Rankings, early in the season.
2023 National Games Gold Medallist Sachin Baisoya of Delhi carded the lowest round of the final day with an eight-under 61 to finish second and Sri Lanka’s N Thangaraja was third at 21-under 255.
Reflecting on his performance, Bhattacharya said, “It was a solid week with just one bogey in four rounds. I recovered well whenever I was out of position. Today, I focused on my breathing and staying in the moment. I was striking the ball well, which gave me confidence. My target was to shoot three to four under, knowing it would be enough to win. I’m glad I surpassed that.”
The tour is in Ahmedabad this week at the Kensville Golf & Country Club for the Ahmedabad Open Golf Championship from March 4-7.