Bengaluru's Khalin Joshi had a quiet start to the week but shot back strongly when it mattered to edge out overnight leader Arjun Sharma from Greater Noida to emerge champion of the Tata Steel PGTI Players Championship, presented by KGiSL at the par-72 Coimbatore Golf Club course here on Saturday.
Just one shot separated the two going into the final round. Arjun was hungry and hunting for his maiden PGTI title while the experienced Joshi was looking to add a sixth to his kitty. Obviously, the pressure was on the former, a first-timer in the leader group on the final day as a pro.
Best-ever show
But, he did not let it show and instead put up a brave front till the end.
"Khalin deserves the victory. It is disappointing for me. However, I will the take positives from the game. Also, it is my best-ever finish," said Arjun, who shot a two-under 70.
Khalin, on the other hand, had played the course 12 years back. "The greens are firmer and faster now and I enjoyed playing here today," he said.
After a quiet three days, playing patiently and to a plan, Joshi, for once, chose to break free on the front-nine. He had had a spectacular back-nine and was quite confident that he was doing the right thing. It was a good decision as he came up with a flawless 68 and his aggregate of 14-under 274 was a new record for the lowest winning card at this course.
Here by chance
"The key to winning is staying patient and, I knew what I am capable of. I believed in myself and here I am standing with the trophy," said Joshi, who missed the Korean tour this week as he did not get his visa.
“For me to leave a $1.5 million event and come and play a ₹50 lakh tournament was hard to overcome, but I decided to give it my best shot,” he said. And, it paid off as he went home richer by ₹7.5 lakh.
Varun Parikh fired a hole-in-one during his final round of 68 that helped him finish a career-best third.
