<p>At the PGTI Players Championship-2024 sponsored by Tollygunge Club in Kolkata, Manu Gandas of Gurugram (65-67-64-64) stole the show in the final round, shooting the highest score of the day of six-under 64 to finish with an impressive 20-under 260 and win his eighth career championship.</p>
<p><img decoding=”async” class=” wp-image-417230″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/theindiaprint.com-pgti-championship-chandigarhs-akshay-sharma-comes-third-while-manu-gandas-wins-the.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com pgti championship chandigarhs akshay sharma comes third while manu gandas wins the” width=”1075″ height=”712″ title=”PGTI Championship: Chandigarh's Akshay Sharma comes third, while Manu Gandas wins the golf championship 9″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/theindiaprint.com-pgti-championship-chandigarhs-akshay-sharma-comes-third-while-manu-gandas-wins-the.jpg 726w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/theindiaprint.com-pgti-championship-chandigarhs-akshay-sharma-comes-third-while-manu-gandas-wins-the-150×99.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1075px) 100vw, 1075px” /></p>
<p>Akshay Sharma (65), of Chandigarh, came in third at 17-under 263. Rahil Gangjee (65-65-64-68) finished in second place at 18-under 262 after shooting a fourth round of 68.</p>
<p>The 27-year-old Manu used all of the knowledge he had gained from competing in Europe the previous year. Manu had won a berth on the DP World Tour in 2023 by topping the PGTI Ranking in 2022. Manu’s second consecutive 64-hole score was characterized by three birdies on the front and back nines, respectively, and a bogey-free performance.</p>
<p>At the beginning of the day, Manu was two strokes behind overnight leader Rahil Gangjee. However, he quickly put pressure on the latter with some excellent wedge shots that resulted in birdies on the fourth and seventh holes as well as a 40-foot birdie conversion on the sixth. Manu kept up his impressive play on the back nine, hitting two crucial birdie putts from ten to fifteen feet out on the 13th and 17th holes to take the lead and go on to win the match.</p>
<p>Manu said, “I just stuck to my game plan and kept doing what I did well earlier in the week. I wasn’t thinking any differently today.” My best round in terms of hitting the ball was the first one. But throughout the course of the next two days, the irons fell short. With some help from my short game, I was able to save those rounds. Today’s long putt for birdie on the 17th hole was essential since it gave me a two-shot lead heading into the last round.</p>
<p>Based in Bengaluru Rahil had command of the match until the thirteenth hole, finishing with five birdies at the expense of one bogey. But after his double-bogey on the 14th, Manu became the new leader and his aspirations of winning the championship vanished.</p>
<p>Making his PGTI debut, rookie Stepan Danek of the Czech Republic (67) shared for fourth place at 16-under 264 with Delhi-based Saptak Talwar (68).</p>
