Sport - Golf

Manav Das triumphs

NOIDA: Manav Das won the LG Noida Open amateur golf championship beating Ajeetesh Sandhu in the play-off after the two were tied at 297 in the regulation four rounds at the Noida Golf Club here on Friday. Das parred the play-off hole to clinch the title ahead of Sandhu.

Das had started steadily with four pars before he birdied the par-3 fifth hole, nailing his six-iron to within 12 feet from the pin. A double bogey on the eighth put Das behind and his card further deteriorated when he repeated double bogey on the 10th. But birdies on the 14th and 16th pegged him for a better show.

Sandhu, on the other hand, had a disastrous start with bogeys on the sixth, 11th and 12th. But he caught up fine with four straight birdies from the 13th hole.

He had a one-stroke advantage on the final hole, but nerves got the better of him and he gifted the title to Das.

Saurabh Bahuguna brought in the day’s best card of level par 72 to share the third place with Fatehbir Dhaliwal at 12-over 300.

The scores: Manav Das (72, 77, 75, 73) and Ajeetesh Sandhu (76, 76, 72, 73) 297, Saurabh Bahuguna (80, 79, 69, 72) and Fatehbir Dhaliwal (76, 72, 76, 76) 300, Simarjeet Singh (71, 75, 78, 78) 302, Gagan Verma (75, 81, 75, 73) 304, Mith un Perera (77, 78, 77, 73) 305, Vikram Rana (78, 74, 77, 78) and Arshdeep Tiwana (81, 78, 73, 75) 307.