Gaurav Pratap Singh lifts ONGC Masters

Noida: Gaurav Pratap Singh clinched his maiden title at the ONGC Masters despite bringing home his worst card of the week, a three-over 75 in the final round here on Saturday.

Thanks to his overnight five-shot lead, Singh registered his first professional win at the Noida golf course here after ending the tournament with a total of three-under 285, one stroke ahead of Vijay Kumar (71). Senior pro Gaurav Ghei was a further stroke back in the third place, Vipin Kumar Sharma (290) finished fourth, while Vivek Bhandari, Ranjit Singh and defending champion Shamim Khan secured tied fifth place at three-over 291.Singh parred the first six holes before hitting a double bogey-birdie patch in the next two holes. The 25-year-old again stumbled on a bogey on the 11th but earned a valuable birdie on the par-five 14th, before ending the day with a couple of bogeys on the 17th and 18th hole.“I didn’t expect it to get so close at the end. I was targeting a score of 70 today but my poor driving let me down. However, I have no complaints. I finally registered my first win and cannot describe how good it feels to be holding that trophy,” Gaurav Pratap Singh said. “I have worked really hard for this and will cherish this moment for a long time to come. I dedicate this win to my parents who have always encouraged me to scale greater heights and my coach Kel Llewellyn whose guidance has made a world of difference to my game,” added Singh. PTI