The Bangladeshi returned a final-round card of one-under 71, similar to second placed Ranjit Singh of Chandigarh, in glorious conditions at the Karnataka Golf Association, sealing the victory. The 25-year-old finished with eight-under 280 for the title, one stroke ahead of Ranjit.
After the initial charge, Lahiri’s game fizzled out dramatically towards the end when his 71 left him at an overall five-under 283 for third place.
Leader since the end of round two, Rahman started the day with a birdie on the first hole before settling to play stable round. Despite his playing partners — Ranjit and Lahiri — applying constant pressure throughout the course of play that kept the crowd on their toes, the Bangladeshi never lost his composure.
Unlike the last three days, Rahman did not experience a variable weather on the day and he completed a flawless front-nine with two birdies. His only blot was a bogey on the par-4 final hole but his first PGTI title of the 2009 season was already decided when Lahiri double-bogeyed and Ranjit could only come up with a par effort.
When asked if the pressure finally caught on to him on the 18th, a delighted Rahman said: “No! Actually, I had a two-stroke lead over Ranjit and Anirban (Lahiri) heading into the final hole. After Anirban hit his second shot way over the green. I chipped well from the bunker and I knew the victory was there.”
Rahman, who left the City along with Lahiri on Saturday night to participate in the September 10-13 Macau Open, holed a 10-foot for birdie in the first and fired another 25-foot birdie in the sixth. His rescue efforts, especially on the seventh and 11th holes were remarkable.
On the seventh, his tee-shot landed into the left-side bunker but he chipped out superbly onto the green for par. Four holes later, he had to dig deep. He went from bunker-to-bunker with his first and second shots but a good chip on the third meant there was no damage.
Local lad Lahiri caught everyone’s attention with a rollicking start. His birdies on the second, fourth and fifth left at two strokes behind leader Rahman at the turn but a topsy-turvy ride on backward journey cost him dearly. Birdies on the 11th and 13th, sandwiched by a bogey on 12th and another one on the 15th left him disappointed.
Leading scores: 280: Md Siddikur Rahman (71, 69, 69, 71); 281: Ranjit Singh (70, 71, 69, 71); 283: Anirban Lahiri (72, 70, 70, 71); 284: C Muniyappa (71, 72, 73, 68); 286: Shamim Khan (71, 74, 71, 70); 287: Harendra P Gupta (69, 73, 71, 74), Manav Jaini (71, 70, 73, 73); 288: R Srinivas (72, 74, 71, 71); 290: Rahil Gangjee (75, 73, 73, 69); 291: Sanjay Kumar (76, 70, 73, 72), Raju Ali Mollah (72, 76, 72, 71).
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