Veer Ahlawat receives his trophy and cheque from Cidco vice-chairman and MD Vijay Singhal (second from left) and PGTI president Kapil Dev at Kharghar Valley GC on Friday. Image courtesy PGTI.
By Rahul Banerji
Veer Ahlawat needed all his experience to come through in the Rs 1 crore Cidco Open at Navi Mumbai’s Kharghar Valley Golf Course on Friday
The lanky Gurgaon golfer eventually prevailed in the event presented by Larsen & Toubro by three strokes with a solid closing 4 under par 67, the PGTI said.
Ahlawat (65-65-73-67), who led from the start totalled 14 under 270 on the par-71 course ahead of fellow overnight leader, Pune’s Rohan Dhole Patil (70-69-64-70).
The 2024 PGTI Order of Merit champion also needed to overcome a shaky first half before prevailing by an eventually comfortable margin.
It earned Ahlawat a cheque of Rs 15 lakh which moved him from 18th to 11th place in the 2025 standings with one final event to go next week in Jamshedpur.
Dhole Patil recorded his best finish on the PGTI with an 11 under total that was worth Rs 10 lakh and a move to 32nd place from 42nd on the money list.
Manu Gandas (68-68-70-68) of Gurgaon and Italy’s Michele Ortolani (67-66-72-69) tied for third on 10 under 274.
Third ace
Ravi Kumar of Chandigarh made the third hole-in-one of the tournament during his final round of 71, acing the 13th hole to total 4 under 280 and a share of ninth place.
Ahlawat, based at the DLF Golf & Country Club, began with tap-in birdies on the first and third holes.
He then had a turbulent phase till the 10th as he made a lone birdie in exchange for two bogeys and a double, finding the trees and the water hazard on the fourth and ninth respectively.
With Dhole Patil, Ortolani and Gandas inching closer by the turn, Ahlawat regained the initiative with an eagle and four birdies at the cost of a bogey over the last eight holes.
He took control by rolling in 20-footers for eagle and birdie on holes 12 and 18 and also draining a 15-footer for birdie on 13.
The chasing pack found it hard to keep up on the back nine. Dhole Patil was one-over for the day till 13before rallying with three consecutive birdies.
He however would drop a shot on 18 to finish three shots behind Ahlawat.
Rocky run
Said the winner later, “I started off well today but then made some mistakes till the 10th. I then got on a roll from the 11th onwards.
“Despite the tough stretch in the middle, I was quietly confident because I knew at the back of my mind that I had played well in such tight situations before.
“Knew that once I brought my ‘A’ game out, I would be hard to beat.
“I would like to thank Cidco and L&T for their support to this event. Cidco has done a wonderful job with Kharghar Valley and I feel it is one of the best courses in the country in terms of its layout and length.”
Also read: Dhole Patil breaks course record to share Cidco Open lead
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