The PGTI year-ending event has for the first time a non-Indian winner with Thailand's Pariya Junhasavasdikul clinching the Rs 1.5 crore Mcleod Russel Tour Championship 2016 by a three-shot margin with a tally 15-under 273 here on Sunday.
The overnight leader by two shots, Pariya (66-68-68-71) was quick off the blocks as he birdied the first hole for the fourth successive day, thanks to a 30-feet conversion.
The two-time Asian Tour winner's putter was on fire through the front-nine as he picked up two more strokes on the second and sixth, one from 20 feet and the other from 40 feet, to open up a mammoth seven-shot lead.
Three bogeys thereafter, which came at the expense of just one birdie courtesy some erratic tee shots, could not do any damage to Pariya's prospects as all the others struggled to catch up with him.
The 32-year-old Thai finally signed off with a 71 after his chip on the final hole hit the flag stick in dramatic fashion and set up a two-foot par putt.
"I again had a great start to the day with three birdies on the first six holes. That gave me a good cushion at the top. However, I was a little rusty and never really felt very comfortable despite the healthy lead," Pariya, the first Thai player to win on the PGTI, said,
Pariya is someone who loves to fly high, in a literal sense, as he is a licensed pilot since 2004.
A business management graduate of Purdue, he also knows martial arts but it's flying which he loves the most.
"Definitely I would love to fly. It's really amazing. I'm considering a full-time career in flying from next year. Maybe less of golf," Pariya said after his unwavering final round of one-under 71 en route to lifting the silverware.
"Martials arts is just for my self defence. You never know when you need it," he added with a smile.
Overwhelmed by the hospitality here, he said: "The players and everyone here were so friendly, something missing on Thai Tours. I feel really jealous of the Indians.
"It's really a great thing to sign off the year on a high, and especially when I'm going on a vacation with my family," Pariya, who took home the winner's cheque worth Rs 22,50,000, added.
He further thanked Indian pro Shiv Kapur, a close friend for inviting him to play the Tour.
Meanwhile, Rashid Khan's (70-64-70-72) title hopes were dashed early when he dropped two double-bogeys and a bogey on the first seven holes.
However, he made a valiant comeback with five birdies thereafter that helped him secure the runner-up spot and the Rolex Player of the Year title.
The 25-year-old, who had suffered some injuries midway through the year, capped his impressive season with two wins, three runner-up finishes and three other top-10s from just eight starts.
"This has to be counted as a better season for me than 2013 when I last won the Rolex Ranking. In 2013 I had played 17 events but this year I became no. 1 despite playing just eight events. I have to be proud of this effort," Khan, who posted a top-10 in every event he played on the PGTI this year, said.
"I played fewer events on both the Asian Tour and the PGTI due to my wrist injury and also the injury suffered after a bike accident. But I made the most of my limited opportunities this year. I've regained a lot of confidence with the Rolex Ranking win. This will help me get my game back on track in the next Asian Tour season.
"I feel I put pressure on myself in the early stages of today's round by expecting a bit too much. But I came back well later on. The 10-feet birdie conversion on the 17th was crucial in keeping me ahead in the Rolex Ranking race and also to seal the runner-up spot."
Shamim Khan mastered the greens today as he chipped-in for birdie on the sixth and sank five birdie putts from a range of 25 to 45 feet during his round of nine-under-63 that equaled Rashid Khan, Arjun Atwal and Edwart Fraytt's previous course record. It helped him claim tied third place at the event and second position in the money list.
Gaganjeet Bhullar (69) and inaugural edition winner SSP Chawrasia (71) also took a share of third place, five shots behind the winner. Jyoti Randhawa came in sixth at nine-under-279 after firing a top-class 66 in round four.
Aman Raj (71) finished joint 10th at four-under-284 to win the Emerging Player of the Year title.
Shubhankar Sharma, the money list leader coming into this event, posted a disappointing 76 in round four to also end up in tied 10th. He thus slipped in the Rolex Ranking from first to third.