Cheema prevails in playoff against Aman; ends 11-Year wait for second title

 Chandigarh golfer Angad Cheema was rewarded for his consistency as he held his nerve to triumph in a thrilling playoff against Aman Raj of Patna to end his 11-year wait for a second PGTI title at the Rs 1 crore Vizag Open here on Saturday.

Cheema (69-61-70-68), the overnight leader by three shots, struck a three-under 68 in the final round to end with a tournament total of 16-under 268.

However, Cheema had company at the top of the leaderboard after a flurry of birdies by Aman (66-68-69-65) towards the end of the round saw him produce the day’s best score of six-under 65.

His sensational performance helped him to draw level with Cheema at 16-under and take the match into a playoff.

Cheema, who had posted six previous top-10s in the season including two runner-up finishes, converted an eight feet birdie putt to win the playoff and thus pick up the winning cheque worth Rs 15 lakh that pushed him up from fourth to third in the TATA Steel PGTI Ranking.

Bengaluru’s Aryan Roopa Anand (67) and Gurugram’s Kartik Sharma (70) finished a distant tied third at a total of 10-under 274.

"It’s a great relief and a monkey off my back to finally win after so long because I had come close to victory on so many occasions in recent years and had not closed it out. I’m now looking forward to bigger things," Cheema said.

"My approach this season and in particular today was to just try and keep giving it my best without worrying too much about the result because that was not in my hands.

"It was annoying to not win despite coming close so often but nevertheless my confidence was sky-high knowing that I was playing great golf every week and that kept me going." On a dramatic final day, the 34-year-old Cheema, runner-up on the PGTI last week in Hyderabad, kept a firm grip on proceedings by maintaining his lead with a comfortable three-shot margin till the 16th hole thanks to his excellent putting as four of his five birdie conversions came from a range of 12 to 20 feet. He dropped only one bogey on this stretch.

Then came a twist as Angad found the bunker and had a bogey on the 18th while Aman rallied by sinking three birdie putts from a range of 10 to 15 feet on the last four holes to draw level with Cheema.

With Aman gaining the momentum, the match headed into a playoff even as there was a light drizzle to add to the drama.

The six-foot-one-inch tall golfer then seized the initiative on the playoff hole with his exceptional tee shot and approach shot to set up an eight-footer for victory.

Cheema nailed his birdie putt while Aman missed his birdie putt from 20 feet. It was Cheema’s third professional win as he now has two titles on the PGTI and one title on the PGTI Feeder Tour.

"Today my putter was on fire as I holed a lot of very crucial putts which kept the momentum going for me. Aman played really well to force the playoff, but it was a whole new ball game once the playoff began," she said.

"On the playoff hole, my tee shot was crucial because I had struggled off the tees all day. After Aman hit the fairway with his drive, I knew I had to put it in play to have a good chance and that’s exactly what I did.

"I then played a terrific approach shot and left myself a good number on the green. My putting confidence was already high and that finally helped me sink the winning putt on the playoff hole," he concluded.