Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational: Karan Pratap prevails by two shots

Gurugram, Dec 2 (IANS) Karan Pratap Singh fired a steady final round of two-under 70 to prevail by two shots in the Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational 2023 at the DLF Golf & Country Club here on Saturday. Gurugram’s Karan Pratap Singh (68-71-70) mastered the conditions at his home course in the third and last round of the event with a prize fund of INR 2 crore to end up with a winning total of seven-under 209. 

Karan thus bagged his second career title, also his second of the season, and pocketed the winner's cheque worth INR 30 lakh, which pushed him up three spots to second place in the TATA Steel PGTI Ranking as his season’s earnings reached INR 72,33,173. The winner also earned himself a Skoda Slavia car.

The trio of Andorra’s Kevin Esteve Rigaill (72-70-69), Gurugram’s Sunhit Bishnoi (69-70-72) and Delhi-based Rashid Khan (68-70-73) finished joint runners-up at five-under 211.

Karan Pratap Singh, who was overnight tied second and one shot off the lead, had a steady start on Saturday being one-under after three holes. The 23-year-old who turned pro in 2019, then dropped a bogey on the sixth but bounced back with a birdie on the eighth, something he managed to do through the week.

An erratic tee shot on the 11th saw Singh take a penalty drop that resulted in a bogey and he was in some sort of trouble at that stage. But he made a crucial par putt from 20 feet on the 14th that changed the course of the match. Singh then scored two more birdies on the 15th and 18th, converting a 10-footer on the latter, to walk away with the trophy.

An elated Karan said, “On the back nine, I knew I had to make birdies and keep the mistakes out as Sunhit and Rashid were ahead at that stage. I managed to execute my plan well. The two birdies on the last four holes had to do a lot with the 20-footer for par on the 14th which gave me the much-needed momentum. That was my first long putt of the day.

“On the 15th and 18th, I played conservatively by laying up and that paid off for me. Winning at my home course is a special feeling, it’s something that I’ve dreamt of for a long time. This win means a lot for me and for my family who came out to watch me on the course today. I’m looking forward to driving around in the Skoda Slavia.”

Sunhit Bishnoi (72) and overnight leader Rashid Khan (73), the leaders for most of the final day, slipped down the leaderboard with consecutive bogeys on the 16th and 17th that dashed the duo’s title hopes.

Rookie Kevin Esteve Rigaill (69), who was overnight tied fifth, came up with four birdies and a bogey in his round of 69 to move up three spots on the last day and record his best finish on the PGTI.

Om Prakash Chouhan, who finished tied 22nd at four-over 220, continues to lead the TATA Steel PGTI Ranking with season’s earnings of INR 98,80,559.

--IANS

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