Veer Ahlawat, who was overnight fourth and five shots off the lead, matched his tournament low score of eight-under 62 in round four to register a sensational come-from-behind victory at the Victorious Choice presents Jaipur Open 2025, powered by Shubhashish Homes, an Rs 1 crore event, played at the Rambagh Golf Club in Jaipur.
Gurugram-based Veer (67-62-70-62), who had also shot a 62 earlier in the second round, totalled 19-under 261 for the week to pick up his fifth title and the winner’s purse of INR 15 lakh that lifted him from 38th to 18th position in the PGTI Order of Merit.
Veer’s exceptional bogey-free round on Friday also helped him break the record for the lowest winning total at the Rambagh Golf Club. The record was previously held by Sanjay Kumar, who had shot a 16-under 264 at a PGTI event in 2011. Yuvraj Sandhu (65-63-66-68), the leader by three shots after round three, carded a 68 on the final day, featuring five birdies and three bogeys that saw him finish runner-up at 18-under 262.
Yuvraj took away a cheque worth INR 10 lakh to further extend his lead in the PGTI Order of Merit to over Rs 33 lakh as his season’s earnings moved to INR 1,31,67,100. Shaurya Bhattacharya returned a 64 to take third place at 15-under 265. Veer , the 2024 PGTI Order of Merit champion, returned to play on the PGTI a few weeks back after playing a season on the highly competitive DP World Tour.
Veer, who had earned his spot on the DP World Tour as a result of topping the PGTI Ranking last year, made an immediate impact on his return to the PGTI with third-place finishes in Pune and Digboi, the tour’s last two events. On Friday, Veer stole the thunder from the rest of the field by producing his second score of 62 this week.
Veer was slow off the blocks with his first two birdies coming on the sixth and eighth holes. However, he made a charge with six birdies on the back nine, including a crucial 14-foot conversion on the 17th, where he was in a spot of bother. “I discovered something new in my swing earlier this week that really helped my driving.
My driving was the best aspect of my game through the week. I also hit it close for most of the final round. The putts didn’t roll in for me on the front nine, but on the back nine, I holed almost every putt. The game-changer for me was the 17th, where I played a poor chip shot but, despite that, managed to sink a long putt to salvage a birdie," Veer, who hails from the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurugram, said.
“The experience of playing on the DP World Tour has been very beneficial for me in terms of the international exposure that I’ve gained. This win now gives me the self-belief to finish off the season well,” he said. Yuvraj, a five-time winner in the current PGTI season, mixed five birdies with a bogey till the 16th to lead for most part of the day.
However, he missed short putts on the last two holes to drop consecutive bogeys that saw his challenge fade away. Jaipur-based professionals Prakhar Asawa (one-over 281) and Hemendra Choudhary (two-over 282) finished tied 45th and tied 47th, respectively.