Mane cruises to victory

Udayan Mane clinched the title of the BTI Open 2017 with a comfortable four-shot victory at the Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka yesterday.

The 26-year-old Bangalorean, who held the lead since the second round, coasted to victory in the 40-lac-rupee event with an aggregate of 12-under-par (276) after a two-under-par in the fourth and final round on Thursday.

Indian trio of Aman Raj (69), Harendra Gupta (70) and Khalin Joshi (71) shared second position at eight-under-par (280) while Mohammad Nazim of Bangladesh finished in ninth position with four-under-par (284) to become the only non-Indian player to finish among the top ten in this event, which has been sponsored by real estate company BTI Holdings Ltd and co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India and Bangladesh Professional Golfers' Association.

The KGC pro carded one-under (71) on the final day to post an aggregate of four-under-par (284) while Shakhawat Hossain Sohel, Jamal Hossain Mollah and Nur Jamal – the latter two scoring matching five-under in the final round – ended in joint 13th position with three-under-par (285).

Bangladesh's Mohammad Rasel, the only amateur to make the cut, won the trophy for the best performance by an amateur. He closed the week in tied 29th at three-over-par (291).

Udayan Mane continued his domination into the final day of this event as he became the first Indian to win the title, with defending champion Siddikur Rahman not taking part this time around. The 26-year-old was readily awarded for his feat, making a leap from 26th place to third position in the 2017 PGTI Order of Merit.

Udayan, who won two titles during his rookie season in 2015, further consolidated with birdies on the 13th and 14th. The bogey on the 17th didn't cause much trouble as he marched to his third title with considerable ease thus ending a 16-month victory drought.

"This win is a special one as it's a testament to all the hard work I've put in recently. Towards the end of last season I began changing my approach to the game and the way I practiced. It was a systematic approach to try to get better," said Mane, who broke a 16-month drought by winning his third title on the tour.

Later, Mane received the trophy from Major General Abdullahil Baquee, vice president of KGC where Asif Abrahim, president of BPGA, Arshi Haider, chairman, BTI Holdings Ltd, Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO of PGTI and Brigadier Quamrul Islam, secretary general of BPGA were also present.