Rashid Khan becomes first Indian to win Chittagong Open title

Chittagong, March 9: India's Rashid Khan completed his domination of the Chittagong Open 2019 with his final-round heroics at the Bhatiary Golf and Country Club (BGCC) on Saturday.

The 28-year-old (65-66-70-63), the third round leader by two shots, produced a sizzling nine-under-63, the tournament's best round, on day four, to win with a record total of 24-under-264 and an impressive seven-shot victory margin.

Rashid thus became the first Indian to win the Chittagong Open title as the first two editions of the tournament were won by Bangladesh's Md Siddikur Rahman and Sri Lanka's N Thangaraja.

Interestingly, Rashid's last round 63 was just one short of compatriot and close friend Kapil Kumar's course record from last year.

Rashid's 24-under-264 total happens to be the lowest ever winning score achieved at the BGCC. The previous best was N Thangaraja's 22-under-266 recorded at the second edition of the tournament last year.

Rashid's win was his 11th success at the professional level. He had won his last tournament in December 2018, at Mumbai where he ended a two-year title-drought.

Eighteen-year-old rookie Kshitij Naveed Kaul of India bagged his career-best finish as he claimed second position at 17-under-271 after a fourth round of 68. Kaul, playing only his sixth event as a professional, now has two back-to-back top-5 finishes on the PGTI.

The Delhi-based Rashid, who led the tournament in all three previous rounds, was relentless from the very start on day four as he opened the day with a birdie on the first and followed that up with three more on the front-nine. Rashid then made three consecutive birdies on the 10th, 11th and 12th to all but seal the title. The two-time Asian Tour winner finally achieved the lowest ever winning score at BGCC with birdies on the 16th and 17th.

Rashid said, "I got off to a great start this morning and just kept the momentum going. The putts rolled in for me today and I also capitalized on the par-5s unlike yesterday. My week can be summed up by the fact that I dropped only one bogey in the whole tournament. It's great to win two events in quick succession. I feel my confidence and game are back on track."

India's Honey Baisoya (67) secured third place at 16-under-272.

Last year's champion Thangaraja registered a fifth place finish at 13-under-275. Md Sajib Ali had the best finish among the Bangladeshi golfers. He ended tied sixth at 12-under-276.

(Source: PGTI)