Aman Raj holds off Veer to complete back-to-back wins, rises to top of IGPL rankings

Kolkata, Oct 31 (PTI) Aman Raj survived another tense finish to claim his second straight victory, clinching the IGPL Invitational at the par-70 Tollygunge Golf Club, here on Friday.

Aman became only the second player after Gaganjeet Bhullar to win multiple events this season.

The victory also took Aman to the top of the IGPL Order of Merit, making him the first player to cross Rs. 50 lakh in earnings from five events.

Aman (68) finished at 14-under for three days, while Veer Ganapathy, who was 4-under through 17 before a closing double bogey, signed off with a 2-under 66 for an 11-under total.

Though the margin eventually read three shots, both were level with one hole to play.

Aman birdied the final hole, while Veer went left off the tee and hit a tree with his second shot, resulting in a double bogey.

For the second week running, the experienced Aman Raj held off a teenage challenger -- having beaten 16-year-old Kartik Singh in Jaipur last week and now 17-year-old Veer in Kolkata.

"At the start of the year, I did think it would be a good year, but then the game was not going the way I wanted, but I kept telling myself it was just a matter of time," Aman said.

"But after the IGPL started, I had a surge of confidence. I told myself I should go out there and not worry about what's happening, but again it is not easy." Aryan Roopa Anand, a two-time All India Amateur champion, shot a final-round 66 to finish sole third at 9-under (68-66-66), his best IGPL result yet.

Samarth Dwivedi (67-69-67) was fourth at 7-under, while Syed Saqib Ahmed (66-69-69) and veteran Ranjit Singh (69-67-68) shared fifth at 6-under 204.

Among women, Ridhima Dilawari (69-70-71) finished even par for the week and tied 20th alongside Asian Tour winner Chiragh Kumar (67-71-72) and Olympian Udayan Mane (66-74-70).

Top amateurs Rahul Ravi (70-68-73) and Aryav Shah (67-71-73) were tied 25th at 1-over. PTI TAP AT AT