Sujjan Singh lifts the trophy at Oxford Golf & Country Club

Pune, June 10, 2011 Nksagar-Sagar Media Inc : New Delhi:
Sujjan Singh lifts the trophy at Oxford Golf & Country Club:Himmat Singh Rai finishes runner-up:Sujjan Singh’s final round 69 helped him win the PGTI Players Championship presented by Oxford Golf & Country Club on Friday. The Chandigarh golfer ended the week with an 11 under 277 total and finished one stroke ahead of Himmat Singh Rai of Delhi.

Sujjan Singh (69-72-67-69), who bagged his second professional title on Friday, got home thanks to a steady three under 69. Sujjan, the overnight joint leader along with Himmat Singh Rai (67-73-68-70), began the day with a birdie putt from six feet on the first to go one ahead. Himmat then caught up with a birdie on the second. Sujjan earned his second birdie with another six feet putt on the eighth.

Both the players birdied the 11th before Himmat suffered a couple of setbacks due to bogeys on the 12th and 13th. Himmat then posed a serious challenge to Sujjan by picking up an eagle on the 16th where he sank a 50 feet putt to reduce the margin to one stroke.

Sujjan was in some trouble on the last hole after he found the rough with his tee shot even as Himmat landed it on the fairway. However, Sujjan produced an extraordinary eight-iron second shot from the rough that landed just 10 feet from the pin and all but sealed it for him.

The two players made pars on the last hole and as a result Sujjan Singh took home the winner’s trophy. He remained the only player in the tournament to have not shot a single over par score through the week. The 30-year-old climbed from 41st place to 14th position on the Rolex Rankings after his win on Friday.

“I played a very steady round today. Importantly, I made no bogeys in the last two rounds. My hitting was immaculate and I hit as many as 16 greens today. I had some anxious moments towards the end after Himmat closed the gap with an eagle on the 16th. But I played well under pressure to close it out. I made a tough five feet par putt on the 17th and then followed that up with a near-perfect second shot from the rough on the 18th,” said Sujjan.

“I changed a few things in my game earlier this year and those changes seem to be working for me. I’m now playing very consistent golf,” added Sujjan.

Mandeo Singh Pathania (76-71-68-68) of the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort, Greater Noida, secured third place at five under 283. Pathania’s 68 was the best score of the day along with Kapil Kumar’s 68. Mandeo’s fourth round featured an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys.

Vijay Kumar, Kunal Bhasin, Mukesh Kumar and Raju Ali Mollah were joint fourth at three under 285.

Aditya Bhandarkar of Pune, the lone amateur to make the cut, won the trophy for the best amateur score. Bhandarkar finished tied 45th at 14 over 302.