Navi Mumbai, Dec 19 (IANS) Veer Ahlawat brought all his experience to the fore to come through as the champion in the Rs 1 crore CIDCO Open, the first-ever professional event played at the Kharghar Valley Golf Course (KVGC) in Navi Mumbai on Friday.
Gurugram golfer Ahlawat (65-65-73-67), who was at the top of the leaderboard for the first three days, being the sole leader in the first two rounds and the joint leader after the third round, produced a solid final round effort of four-under 67 despite a turbulent first half of the day to emerge victorious by three shots at a total of 14-under 270.
Six-foot four-inch tall Ahlawat, the 2024 PGTI Order of Merit champion, secured his second title of 2025 and sixth win overall, which earned him the winning cheque worth Rs 15 lakh and propelled him from 18th to 11th position in the 2025 PGTI Ranking.
Pune’s Rohan Dhole Patil (70-69-64-70), the overnight joint leader along with Veer, came up with a last round of 70 to finish runner-up at a total of 11-under 273 and thus record his best finish on the PGTI. Rohan collected a cheque worth Rs 10 lakh that pushed him up from 42nd to 32nd in the PGTI Ranking.
Gurugram’s Manu Gandas (68-68-70-68) and Italy’s Michele Ortolani (67-66-72-69) finished tied third at 10-under 274.
Ravi Kumar of Chandigarh made the third hole-in-one of the tournament during his final round of 71. Ravi aced the 13th hole. He totalled four-under 280 to claim tied ninth place at four-under 280.
Ahlawat, who hails from the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurugram, began the day on a positive note with tap-in birdies on the first and third holes. He then had a turbulent phase till the 10th as he made a lone birdie in exchange for two bogeys and a double-bogey on that stretch, finding the trees and the water hazard on the fourth and ninth, respectively.
With Rohan Dhole Patil, Michele Ortolani, and Manu Gandas inching closer and breathing down Ahlawat’s neck at the turn, the latter seized the initiative with an eagle and four birdies at the cost of a single bogey on the last eight holes. Ahlawat took control by rolling in 20-footers for eagle and birdie on the 12th and 18th, respectively, and also draining a 15-footer for birdie on the 13th.
The rest of the field found it hard to keep pace with Veer on the back nine. Rohan Dhole Patil was one over for the day till the 13th. Rohan then rallied with three consecutive birdies before making bogey on the last hole to finish three shots behind Ahlawat.
Ahlawat, who gained valuable international experience by playing on the DP World Tour in the 2025 season as a result of his PGTI Order of Merit win last year, said, “I started well today but then made some mistakes till the 10th. I then got on a roll from the 11th onwards.
“Despite the tough stretch in the middle, I was quietly confident because I knew at the back of my mind that I had played well in such tight situations before. I knew that once I brought my ‘A’ game out, I would be hard to beat.
“I would like to thank CIDCO and L&T for their support of this event. CIDCO has done a wonderful job with the Kharghar Valley Golf Course, as I feel it is one of the best golf courses in the country in terms of its layout and length,” said Ahlawat.
–IANS
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