Saptak wins maiden title at Adani invitational golf

Saptak Talwar receives the winner’s trophy from Pranav Adani in the presence of PGTI president Kapil Dev.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Local resident Saptak Talwar came up with a flawless fourth round score of five-under 67 to win his maiden title with an overall 13-under 275 in the Rs. 1.5 crore Adani invitational golf championship at the Jaypee Greens Golf and Spa Resort on Friday.

The 26-year-old had started the tournament with a similar five-under 67 but had slipped behind joint leaders Yuvraj Sandhu and Arjun Prasad over the next two rounds.

Eventually, Saptak beat Arjun by one stroke, while Yuvraj placed third with a 277.

Understandably familiar with the course, Saptak delivered a gritty performance, converting five birdies and saved par on the 16th for a bogey-free card. He did miss an eagle putt from five feet on the 12th, but was quite proud about his overall execution.

“It is great to win at my home course in the presence of my family and friends. This is my fifth straight week of competition, and my endurance was my biggest asset this week. I knew I would get my opportunities and stayed patient. The eight-feet par putt on the 16th was pivotal, as it helped to keep my card clean and gave me the confidence to finish well,” said Saptak, who collected the winner’s purse of Rs. 22,50.000

Arjun also had five birdies, but had three bogeys as well, as he wound up with a 70. His second place finish was worth Rs. 15,00,000. 

A two-time winner this season, Yuvraj had five birdies, but had to endure a double bogey and two bogeys for a 71. He collected Rs. 8,99,700.

Sri Lankan N. Thangaraja had a hole-in-one on the 14th as he finished 17th.

Saptak rose to the fourth place in the PGTI Order of Merit, as he took his winnings to Rs. 38,70,423 for the season so far.

The leading scores: 1. Saptak Talwar (67, 72, 69, 67) 275; 2. Arjun Prasad (68, 69, 69, 70) 276; 3. Yuvraj Sandhu (70, 67, 69, 71) 277; 4. Dhruv Sheoran (70, 72, 69, 68) 279; 5T. Om Prakash Chouhan (68, 73, 71, 68), Shaurya Bhattacharya (70, 71, 70, 69) 280; 7. Honey Baisoya (70, 68, 72, 71) 281; 8. Khalin Joshi (73, 73, 70, 66) 282; 9T. Saarthak Chhibber (71, 74, 71, 68), Ravi Kumar (74, 72, 69, 69), Aryan Anand (70, 70, 72, 72), Ajeetesh Sandhu (71, 71, 69, 73), Aman Raj (72, 70, 69, 73) 284.