Chouhan bells Chesters' cat

Om Prakash Chouhan still doesn’t have a home course despite turning professional a little over a decade ago.

While he manages driving at a range in his hometown Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, for a full-fledged round he's forced to travel to Kalhaar Blues and Greens Golf Club in Ahmedabad, and the man from a humble background does that only before big events to fine-tune his game.

Despite the severe limitations, Chouhan is amongst the most notable pros on the domestic PGTI circuit, dishing out consistent performances that has seen him rake up seven titles. On a balmy summer Sunday at the Karnataka Golf Association, he added an eighth, and his biggest, with a majestic come-from-behind triumph in the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge — an European Challenge Tour event.

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Followed by a strong weekend-crowd which soaked in riveting golf, the 36-year-old smashed a brilliant and flawless seven-under 65 to not only quell a strong challenge from Englishman Ashley Chesters, who held the lead until the 15th hole, but ended up completing a record triumph.

In totalling 20-under 268, he equalled Udayan Mane’s lowest winning total at the KGA and became the first Indian since Khalin Joshi (Panasonic Open, October 2018) to triumph in an international event on home soil. Chesters, who shot 67, finished second along with Victor Pastor (67) at 270.

“It feels great to win my maiden international event,” said a delighted Chouhan after collecting the winner’s cheque of USD 48,000. “I’ve been working a lot on the mental aspect of my game lately and the results are slowing showing up. In the past, if I dropped shots or made mistakes early in the round, I would generally start playing more aggressively. But now, I don’t let the errors affect my game too much.”

Chouhan, who now intends to take up the Challenge tour membership after becoming eligible post the win, was locked in an intense battle with Chesters. The Englishman, playing in the penultimate group and under slightly less pressure as compared to Chouhan in the leader group, kept nailing birdies when it mattered most to always stay a step ahead of the Indian.

The seasoned Chouhan, having to play catch up with every shot, went about his job in a cool and calm fashion. He barely committed any errors and with birdies on the first, sixth, seventh and 12th - and always stayed within touching distance.

Chouhan then stepped on the pedal on the closing holes. He birdied the 15th to draw level with Chesters and then nudged ahead for the first time in the tournament with a birdie on the 17th to a thunderous applause.

Upbeat, Chouhan then signed off on a thumping note, birdieing the closing 18th following a superb approach shot that landed the ball to within 10 feet from the pin.

Leading scores (after 72 holes, Indians unless mentioned): 268: Om Prakash Chouhan (70, 67, 66, 65); 270: Victor Pastor (ESP, 72, 64, 67, 67), Ashley Chesters (ENG, 67, 68, 68, 67); 272: Lorenzo Scalise (ITA, 68, 68, 65, 71); 273: Rikard Karlberg (SWE, 68, 66, 69, 70); 274: Oliver Farr (WAL, 64, 71, 70, 69), Craig Howie (SCO, 69, 69, 67, 69); 276: Aman Raj (67, 68, 71, 70), Liam Johnston (SCO, 68, 68, 70, 70); Andrea Pavan (ITA, 68, 70, 69, 69).