Wasim Khan wins maiden title at PGTI NEXGEN's Phillaur Open

Lucknow's Rajesh Kumar Gautam (68) and Chandimandir's Chandarjeet Yadav (69) finished joint runners-up at a total of eight-under 205.

Kurush Heerjee (71) of Jamshedpur, the overnight leader, ended the week in tied fourth place at a total of seven-under 206, along with Chandigarh's Brashwarpal Singh (69), a release said.

Thirty-four-year-old Wasim Khan (67-69-67), who was overnight tied third and one off the lead, outperformed the rest of the field on the final day as he mixed seven birdies with a bogey and a double-bogey during his round of 67.

Wasim's iron play was the highlight of his round on Thursday as he landed it within three feet of the flag to set up three of his birdies. He was also consistent with the putter as he sank three birdies from a range of 10 to 12 feet.

A couple of errant tee shots on the 15th and 16th saw Wasim drop three strokes on that stretch. However, he closed it out well with a birdie on the 17th and a crucial par on the 18th.

Khan picked up the winning cheque worth INR 2,54,300 to climb from 11th place to the second position in the 2025 PGTI NEXGEN Order of Merit. Wasim's total earnings for the season now read Rs 3,54,600, the release said.

Rajesh Kumar Gautam, a winner in Gurugram and runner-up this week in Phillaur, now tops the NEXGEN Order of Merit with season earnings of Rs 4,29,600.

Wasim said, "I'm delighted to register my first professional win. I came close to winning earlier as I had two runner-up finishes on the PGTI Feeder Tour in 2019. I'm glad that I could close out the match this time around.

"My game has been in good shape since last week's event in Kapurthala. So, I just decided to continue with the same game plan this week and play percentage golf by trying to hit maximum fairways and greens. The advice from my mentor and senior professional Shamim Khan helped me a great deal."(ANI)