Yuvraj Sandhu takes the sixth title of the season at the Vishwa Samudra Open

Yuvraj Sandhu receives his trophy and check from Vishwa Samudra Group MD Anil Yendluri (third from left), PGTI President and event host Kapil Dev and DGC Captain Vikram Seth (second from left). Also seen are Tour CEO Amandeep Johl (far right) and Colonel Mohit Nasa, Chairman, Tournaments, DGC. Image courtesy of PGTI.

By Rahul Banerji

Yuvraj Sandhu bounced back from the heartbreak of a shock loss in Jaipur last week to win the Vishwa Samudra Open at the Delhi Golf Club in convincing fashion on Friday.

A closing bogey-free 6-under-par 66 secured a stunning eight-shot win at 14-under 274 at the Rs 2 crore event presented by Kapil Dev, the PGTI said.

The result also sealed Sandhu’s hold on the season-ending Order of Merit race, with two tournaments remaining.

Chandigarh-based Sandhu (73-69-66-66) bagged a check worth Rs 30 lakh and took an unassailable lead in the PGTI rankings with a season-to-date profit of Rs 1.61 crore.

The 28-year-old also sealed his place on the DP World Tour for next year, in addition to equaling Manu Gandas’ record of six wins in a season from 2022.

Sandhu also equaled Viraj Madappa’s record for lowest win total at the DGC of 14 under 274 in 2021.

Sri Lanka’s N. Thangaraja (73-66-75-68) was a distant second at 6 under 282, taking Rs 20 lakh and moving up two places to second in the PGTI rankings with a season’s winnings of Rs 1.08 crore.

Akshay Sharma (5 under 283), Gandas (3 under 285) and Rashid Khan (2 under 286) finished third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Quick break

Sandhu left Friday with a one-stroke lead and took early steps toward the title with birdies on the first two holes with an up-and-down from the bunker and a 10-foot conversion.

He then added four more birdies to march comfortably to his 15th^e career title while the rest of the field struggled to keep pace.

Sandhu, whose 13 top-10 finishes this season also include three second places, later said: “The fact that I have sealed the PGTI Order of Merit title and earned my spot on the DP World Tour has yet to sink in.

“I don’t think it’ll hit me until I leave the DP World Tour. I’m really looking forward to playing in Europe.”

“Winning my sixth title of the year and for the first time at the DGC is also special. This is known as the home of Indian golf and it is the place where I grew up watching my heroes win titles.

“So winning here was always on my bucket list.

‘Importantly, I’ve taken my recent mistakes and heartbreak as lessons and not dwelled on them too much.

Strong recovery

“I feel like I showed a lot of perseverance to come back strong after my second place finish where I almost took the win.

“I did well to go back to the drawing board and analyze my performance. This week there was also more clarity in decision-making between me and my caddy.

“I took a gamble by playing the PGTI this year and sacrificing my Asian Tour card. The gamble paid off.

“The total focus was on finishing number one in the PGTI Ranking and earning my place on the DP World Tour. All the patience and dedication paid off in the end.

“I have had a great team who have supported me all the way and I would like to thank them including my coach and fitter Gurbaaz Mann, my trainer Lavish, my physios Gaurav and Ravinder and mental coach Rabiya.”

Also read: Merit topper Sandhu takes over Vishwa Samudra Open lead

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