Lohan pips Kochhar to Bengaluru Open

Abhinav Lohan emerged victorious at the Bengaluru Open golf championship

Abhinav Lohan posted his breakthrough win on the PGTI, emerging triumphant at the Bengaluru Open golf championship here on Friday. The 30-year-old Lohan, who plays at the DLF Golf & Country Club in Gurugram, shot four-under 68 to take his four-day total to 13-under-275 at the Rs. 40 lakh event at the Karnataka Golf Association course.

It was Faridabad-based golfer’s first title on the PGTI and second win of the year as he had also emerged victorious at the PGTI Feeder Tour event in Lucknow two months back.

Overnight leader Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar (71) finished runner-up at 12-under-276 at the penultimate leg tournament of the PGTI season.

Lohan had a memorable day at the KGA with seven birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey to show on his card.

“I’m just relieved to win on the main tour for the first time. It’s my ninth season as a professional and I had come close to winning on quite a few occasions in the past. I then had a poor 2018 as I missed 10 cuts in a row and lost my PGTI card. So this victory is all the more sweet,” Lohan said. His victory and winner’s cheque of Rs. 6,46,600 pushed him up from 43rd to 19th in the PGTI rankings.

Eighteen-year-old local amateur Akshay Niranjan (70), playing only his second professional event, took a creditable tied fifth place at nine-under-279 along with Om Prakash Chouhan (69) of Mhow. Bengaluru-based Aryan Roopa Anand, the second amateur to make the cut, was placed tied 39th at four-over-292.