Ace golfer Karan Pratap Singh fired a steady final round of two-under 70 and went on to win the Kapil Dev-Grant Thornton Invitational PGTI 2023 by two shots on Saturday. The PGTI was held at the DLF Golf & Country Club golf course in Gurugram. Cricket legend Kapil Dev congratulated Singh and said that he held on to his nerves on one of the best golf courses in the world.
Local boy Singh (68-71-70) took advantage of the conditions at his home course in the third and last round to score a winning total of seven-under 209. This was his second career title and his second of the season. Winning the Kapil Dev-Grant Thornton Invitational PGTI 2023 earned him a cash prize of Rs 30 lakh and a Skoda Slavia. ABP Network CEO Avinash Pande handed him over the keys to the sedan.
The cash prize took his total earnings of the season to Rs 72,33,173 and bagged him the second spot on the TATA Steel PGTI Ranking. Singh was also presented with a special jacket by former India batsman Yuvraj Singh.
Andorra’s Kevin Esteve Rigaill (72-70-69), Gurugram’s Sunhit Bishnoi (69-70-72), and Delhi’s Rashid Khan (68-70-73) ended up sharing the runners-up spot at five-under 211.
After his emphatic win, Karan Pratap Singh said: “On the back-nine, I knew I had to make birdies and keep the mistakes out as Sunhit and Rashid were ahead at that stage. I managed to execute my plan well. The two birdies on the last four holes, had to do a lot with the 20-footer for par on the 14th that gave me the much-needed momentum. That was my first long putt of the day.
“On the 15th and 18th, I played conservatively by laying-up and that paid off for me. Winning at my home course is a special feeling, it’s something that I’ve dreamt of for a long time. This win means a lot for me and for my family who came out to watch me on the course today,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to driving around in the Skoda Slavia,” Singh added.
