Karandeep Kochhar pips young Ganapathy and Pukhraj for maiden IGPL win in Dubai

Dubai, Dec 11 (PTI) Karandeep Kochhar on Thursday shot a third straight 3-under 69 to end his wait for a maiden title on the IGPL Tour with a hard-earned victory at IGPL Invitational UAE.

Kochhar pipped young Veer Ganapathy and Pukhraj Singh to the post at the Els Club in Dubai at the Shiv Kapur hosted event, the tenth IGPL meet of the inaugural season.

Kochhar, a recent winner on the Asian Development Tour, made up for his runner-up finish at the IGPL Invitational Kolkata, even as Ganapathy's wait for a first pro win continued as he was left knocking on the doors yet again.

Kochhar totalled 9-under, while Ganapathy, who was seemingly coasting to fine win, was left ruing a costly triple bogey on Par-4 14th hole on the back nine. He shot even par 72 and finished one shot behind Kochhar.

Also finishing tied second was Pukhraj, the winner of IGPL Jamshedpur. He shot 2-under 70, and like Ganapathy, was left at 8-under and one behind the winner.

Pranavi Urs, the history-maker at IGPL Mumbai, was sole fourth. She shot 1-under 71 and totalled 7-under for the 54 holes.

Gaganjeet Bhullar's streak of wins ended with a fifth-place finis after a round of 71 and a total of 6-under.

Tournament host Shiv Kapur (72) was tied for 16th place with Ridhima Dilawari (75) at 1-under total, while Jeev Milkha Singh, who flew in straight from Mauritius where he was the runner-up in the European Legends Tour, shot 73 and finished Tied-18th in his first appearance on the IGPL Tour.

Another Teen star, Kartik Singh (71), legend SSP Chawrasia (72) and another young rookie pro, Raghav Chugh (72) were tied for the sixth place.

The IGPL Order of Merit leader, Aman Raj (73) was tied with Hitaashee Bakshi, who once again put in final round heroics with a 6-under 66, and Mysuru golfer, Yashas Chandra, who has been trending well.

Chandra shot 71, as he was tied at 4-under with Aman Raj and Hitaashee.

Four players, Sachin Baisoya (67), Harendra Gupta (68), Kartik Sharna (70) and Gaurav Ghei (72), were tied for 12th place. PTI ATK ATK AH AH