It was double delight for Shankar Das as he clinched a fairytale victory at Mcleod Russel Tour Championship with a final round card of three-under 69 and also bagged the Rolex Player of the Year title for the PGTI order of merit at the Royal Calcutta Golf Course, here on Sunday. Shankar, who honed his skills at the RCGC, held his nerves in front of a boisterous home crowd to come up with a four-day aggregate of 16-under 272 to register the biggest win of his career.
Gaganjeet Bhullar and Abhinav lohan were joint runners-up at 13-under-275 as they fired matching scores of 68 in round four. Having started the day with a narrow two-stroke lead, Shankar had a solid start as he birdied the first hole from 20 feet in the `1.5 crore prize money event. “I knew I could not go wrong from here at my home course. From there on, I tried to be simple by playing in the greens,” the ever-smiling Shankar told reporters.
The three-putt bogey on the 11th did not dampen Shankar's spirits as he hit an outstanding tee shot on the par-3 13th and thereafter sank a 12-footer for birdie. Shankar once again seemed unfazed after the dropped shot on the 14th as he came back stronger with birdies on the 15th and 16th, thanks to some excellent wedge shots.
The 31-year-old made pars on the last two holes to seal a comfortable three-shot win and take home his fifth tournament trophy. Das pocketed `2,377,500, the highest ever for a domestic tournament in India. “This is definitely the biggest win of my career. It's helped me become number one on the PGTI for the first time,” he said.
Dedicating the win to his ailing mother Aruna, he said: “It's been a tough time for my family this year. I missed four tournaments midway through the season due to my mother's back surgery. “However, I came back stronger on the tour with some good performances and top-5 finishes. It's great to end the year with a win, my first in over 15 months. I will now aim to use my country spot to good effect on the Asian Tour next year,” a beaming Shankar added.
Fairytale at home
Shankar's family, who lived in the narrow bylanes near the third green, could not afford golf equipment so he trimmed a small tree branch and did putting with a plastic ball till his mother Aruna borrowed money to buy a club. Having lost his father when he was 13, Shankar looked up to his brother Manik, 14 years senior to him, who made a big sacrifice to quit his golfing ambition for the sake of his younger brother.
Shankar is supported by his elder brother Manik who doubles up as his caddie-cum-mentor on every Tour. “It's not only his win but mine as well. I've quit golf for him and today I feel I was right. I hope this becomes his launch pad for Asian Tour," a teary-eyed Manik said.