Mhow golfer Chouhan wins first international title at Black Bull Challenge

Nineteen years after he turned professional on the domestic PGTI circuit in 2002 as a 17-year-old, Om Prakash Chouhan won his first international title, at the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge in Bangalore on Sunday. In all, it was his eighth win as a pro.

The Mhow golfer produced a barnstorming finish at the Karnataka Golf Association course during which he dug himself out of trouble more than once to pocket the $48,000 winner’s cheque at an event co-sanctioned (organised and run) by the European Challenge Tour and PGTI.

Currently based at the Kalhaar Blues and Greens in Ahmedabad, Chouhan came into the Black Bull Challenge with good form behind him having finished sixth at the Asian Tour-sanctioned DGC Open presented by Mastercard in Delhi last week,

“I’m thrilled. It’s a huge achievement as I have never won an international title so far,” the unassuming Chouhan said later. “I definitely have plans to play on the Challenge Tour in Europe now. This win opens a lot of doors for me so I’m quite excited about the opportunities ahead.

“I’ve worked a lot on the mental aspect of my game lately. That has brought a lot of improvement in my game. In the past, if I dropped shots or made mistakes early in the round, I would generally start playing more aggressively. But now, I don’t let the errors affect my game too much.”

The result in Bangalore helped end a five-year wait for an Indian golfer winning international honours on home soil, the last one being Khalin Joshi’s Panasonic Open India title in 2018.

On the final day, Chouhan was ice-cold under pressure from the start as he was some way behind the lead pack. But with rounds of 70, 67, and 66 already in the scorebook, he added a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 to not only haul in the front runners, but also overtake them with the final two holes to go.

Ashley Chesters (67-68-68-67) of England and Victor Pastor (72-64-67-67) of Spain were joint runners-up on 18-under 270 while Aman Raj (67-68-71-70) took tied eighth place at 12-under 276 to finish as the second Indian in the top-10.

With the prize money worth Rs 39.84 lakh in the big, Chouhan climbed from 26th place on the Tata Steel PGTI Rankings to first with season’s earnings of Rs 44.52 lakh. The result meant he is now the third Indian winner on the Challenge Tour after Gaganjeet Bhullar (2011) and Shiv Kapur (two titles in 2013) and his final score of 20-under par 268 equalled Udayan Mane’s 2017 record for the lowest winning total at KGA.

“I just wanted to focus on my strengths and my game and not drop any shots. I had targeted a seven-under at the start of the round,” Chouhan added. “I followed up a good par on 14 with a crucial birdie on 15 that set the tone for my good finishing stretch. That birdie was key as it helped me equal the lead. I knew something special was on the cards from there on.”