Aman secures maiden title at Jaipur Open

Bihar golfer Aman Raj secured his maiden title with a clinical final round of five-under 65 at the Jaipur Open here on Friday.

The stage was set for the 23-year-old Aman (64-67-62-65) as he enjoyed a two-shot lead coming into the final round at the back of a red-hot 62 in round three.

The former India No. 1 amateur rose to the occasion on Friday with a round powered by two eagles to register a convincing three-shot win with a 22-under-258 total.

"I experienced both relief and happiness after making that winning putt. I've waited a long time for my victory having come close on a few occasions in the past," Aman said.

Delhi's Honey Baisoya (65-65-66-65) also shot a last round of 65 to finish runner-up for the second year in succession. His total read 19-under-261.

M Dharma of Bengaluru carded the tournament's best score of nine-under-61 to claim third place at the Rambagh Golf Club. He totalled 17-under-263.

Noida's Gaurav Pratap Singh also made waves in round four when he fired a rare albatross on the par-5 17th. Gaurav, who holed his second shot from 256 yards on the 17th, recorded a 67 on Friday to finish tied eighth at 13-under-267.

Aman, the overnight leader, didn't look in any kind of trouble on day four as he maintained his lead from start to finish.

The short and slightly-built golfer had a steady front-nine with two long birdie conversions on the sixth and ninth. He also made a good recovery for a bogey on the eighth after hitting his tee shot out of bounds.

Aman, who turned professional only in 2016, continued his march towards the title with an enthralling chip-in for eagle from 40 feet on the 14th. He began the last hole with a one-shot lead when things looked tight at the top with Honey breathing down his neck.

But Aman shut the door on his nearest rival with a stupendous second shot that found the green and set him a three-putt from 20 feet for victory. Aman sank the monster putt for a classic finish with an eagle.

Aman thus became the first Bihar-based player to win on the PGTI. As a result of his win, he took home a winner's cheque worth Rs. 4,84,950 and thereby climbed from 22nd to 10th place on the PGTI Order of Merit.

Chandigarh-based amateur Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (67) and Bangladesh's Md Zamal Hossain Mollah (69) finished in tied fourth at 16-under-264.

Jyoti Randhawa (69) secured tied 33rd place at six-under-274, while Jaipur's Hemendra Choudhary (69) was a further shot back in tied 38th.