Nuh, Haryana: MJ Daffue managed a flawless final round to capture his second HotelPlanner Tour title in two months on a thrilling final day of the DP World PGTI Open, a $300,000 event co-sanctioned by the DP World PGTI and the HotelPlanner Tour.
The South African, who started Sunday with a four-shot lead, aimed for a 69 to reach 21-under-par 267 and finished one shot ahead of American Jhared Hack and India’s Saptak Talwar.
The win catapults Daffue to the top of the season-long Road to Mallorca rankings.
“I’m really happy,” he said. “The first one triggers something, but this time I believed I could do it.
“I knew I felt comfortable and I had some momentum from the last few weeks.
“I was patient. I worked with a sports psychologist and my motto was ‘perseverance, determination and patience’ and that helped me out there today.”
Daffue had six holes of his third round left when he returned to Classic Golf & Country Club Sunday morning. The 37-year-old shot a 67 and was 18 under par after the third round.
After a slow start to his final round, he tied the score through eight holes before a single birdie on the ninth hole was followed by an eagle on the par-5 14th hole.
Saptak Talwar, who was in third place after round three and two shots off the lead, got off to a slow start in round four as he made seven pars and one bogey in the first eight holes. Saptak, a winner of the DP World PGTI last week, then came back with five birdies between ninth and 18thTh including a crucial 10-foot conversion on the 13thTh.
The 27-year-old Talwar earned US$27,000 (INR 24,30,000) for his effort, which helped him stay at the top of the DP World PGTI Order of Merit while his season earnings rose to INR 70,30,200.
Saptak said: “I started a bit hesitant today in the first eight holes. But I was proud of the fight I showed in the last ten holes. Last week’s win was tiring. After a win, you have to manage your expectations. You have to restart and start from scratch. I did well by putting myself in a good position after the first two rounds this week.”
“The birdie on the 13thTh was the turning point for me today. It prepared me for a good home stretch. Importantly, I kept bogeys to a minimum for the second week in a row. I only had two bogeys this week. My iron play was sharp and my putter started shooting too.
“The performances in the last two events give me a lot of confidence for the Indian Open next week.”
Jhared Hack, winner of the DP World PGTI season opener, shot a bogey-free 65 on the final day to tie for second place with Saptak with a total score of 20-under 268. Jhared is currently at the second position in the DP World PGTI performance list behind Talwar with season earnings of INR 64,96,800.
The other two Indians who made it to the top 10 were Yuvraj Sandhu (71), who finished sixth at 16-under 272, and Ravi Kumar (69), who finished ninth at 15-under 273.
Rashid Khan (74) and Pritish Singh Karayat (71) finished 17thTh at 13-under 275.
