Mukesh clinches crown

 Mukesh Kumar’s long-cherished dream finally came true at the Panasonic Open India as he claimed his maiden international victory, adding the missing piece of silverware to his impressive trophy cabinet worth over 120 titles.

Seasoned campaigner Mukesh registered a spectacular one-shot win with a total of 10-under-206 at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC) after a posting a two-under-70 in the third and final round of the USD 400,000 Asian Tour event on Sunday. Mukesh, who hails from Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, thus became the oldest winner on the Asian Tour at the age of 51.

It was a profitable week for the Indians as Jyoti Randhawa and Rashid Khan were joint runners-up at nine-under-207 even as a total of nine Indians finished inside the top-10. Sri Lankan Mithun Perera, also a PGTI member, was the only foreigner in the top-10. He claimed fourth place at eight-under-208 at the event reduced to 54 holes due to fog delays.

Mukesh Kumar (67-69-70), the overnight leader by two strokes, delivered the knock-out punch on Sunday with a 70 to end up as the wire-to-wire champion at the even’ts sixth edition.

Mukesh had a slow start with a bogey on the third where he missed a short putt. However, subsequent birdies on the seventh and eighth and an excellent par-save from the bunker on the ninth helped him regain his confidence.

But it was the crucial 20-feet birdie conversion on the 15th that swung the match decisively in his favour. He finally made pars on the last three holes to become the fifth Indian in six years to inscribe his name on the Panasonic Open India trophy.

As a result, Mukesh not only became the 22nd Indian to win an international title but also bagged the fifth title for India in the current Asian Tour season which has witnessed Gaganjeet Bhullar and SSP Chawrasia already notch up two wins each.

“I am very proud of myself. I have waited 32 years (since turning professional) for this. This means a lot to me. It is my first international win. It is different from the 123 wins that I have had on the domestic Tour earlier. This is a superb achievement for me. I have been wanting to achieve this,” said a delighted Mukesh.

“Whenever I lead on the local (PGTI) Tour, it’s not easy for me to lose it. But it feels very different today because I know there are many good players out here. I am very glad that I managed to stay in the moment and get the job done.”