Rashid third time lucky at CG Open

Rashid Khan produced a superb final round of seven-under-63 to clinch the PGTI's CG Open with a four-shot victory margin Saturday.

The 27-year-old Rashid, who closed the Rs 1 crore event with an imposing total of 16-under-264, thus returned to winning ways after two years at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club (BPGC) here.

The two-time Asian Tour winner, who returned the last day's best score, was also third time lucky at the tournament after having finished runner-up twice before.

The triumph was also the Delhi pro's 10th professional title and eighth win on the PGTI.

Shamim Khan (67-71-66-64), the 2016 champion, came up with a flawless final round of six-under-64 to gain three spots and finish runner-up at 12-under-268.

Rashid, (68-62-71-63), lying overnight second, one behind third round leader N Thangaraja of Sri Lanka, made an early charge with a birdie-eagle-birdie run from the third to the fifth where he made a tap-in followed by two eight-footers.

He consolidated his lead to three shots with another birdie on the ninth.

Khan, the runner-up in the 2012 and 2013 editions as a result of his playoff losses to Harendra Gupta and Chikkarangappa respectively, then had a relatively quieter back-nine.

He had a bogey on the 10th and three birdies that were enough to see him through to the finish line even as the others struggled to catch up.

The two-time PGTI Order of Merit champion took home the winning cheque worth Rs 16,16,500 that catapulted him from 98th to 19th position in the current PGTI Order of Merit.

"I'm extremely glad to come through this week after a long winless streak. I needed a good start today and I managed that with some quality iron-play early on that helped me build a decent lead," he said.

"The bogey on the 10th was disappointing but I made up for that with a 25-feet birdie conversion on the 14th. At that point I knew that the match was in the bag.

"This win also helps me erase memories of the two previous playoff losses at the CG Open. It's a relief to finally win at the BPGC."