Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Order of Merit winner Shamim Khan and second placed Rashid Khan came up with a solid back nine performance to help Silverglades Delhi defeat DLF Gurgaon 3-0 to lift the second edition Louis Philippe at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort in Greater Noida on Sunday.
The eventual champions, who were trailed at the halfway stage when play was called off on Saturday due to untimely rain, excelled under relatively clearer skies and better playing conditions on Sunday to take home the prestigious Louis Philippe Trophy and cash prize of Rs36 lakh.
"This is an important win for me as it helps me carry my good form from last year into the current season. I had a very poor start to the round and was behind my opponent for a major part of the round. Nonetheless, my experience helped me claw my way back into the match," Shamim added.
The experienced golfer had a bigger task at hand, as he trailed Abhinav Lohan by two-strokes overnight.
Earlier in the day, the first match was played between DLF Gurgaon's Digvijay Singh and Silverglades Delhi. The match was poised evenly until Digvijay faltered with bogies at the 16th and 17th hole while Himmat Rai completed the round with nine consecutive pars to claim a two stroke victory, putting his team one match ahead.
Playing against the experienced Jyoti Randhawa, 21-year-old Rashid Khan hit four consecutive birdies from 12th to 15th hole to stage a remarkable comeback to win the match by two strokes.
"It’s great to win after being three strokes behind a champion player like Jyoti Randhawa. The thought process in a team event is totally different. One cannot attack all the time as you need to keep your teammates’ scores in mind and have a greater responsibility towards the team," said Rashid.
Speaking about the loss, Randhawa said, "We played really well through the tournament but Silverglades had some crucial puts in the last few holes to take the game away from us."
In the third place play-off, Navratna Ahmedabad edged out Jaypee Greens Greater Noida on sudden death after the match score was tied one all.
Vikrant Chopra registered a birdie on the second hole to beat Gaganjeet Bhullar to ensure that the last edition champions at least finished on the podium.
