| Tournament: Kolkata Challenge Venue: Royal Calcutta Golf Club, Kolkata, West Bengal, India Hashtag: #KolkataChallenge |
| Day four reportRasmus Neergaard-Petersen held his nerve on the final day of the Kolkata Challenge to secure a maiden Challenge Tour title at Royal Calcutta Golf Club. The Dane, who led by four shots going into the final round, held off the challenge of home favourite Rahil Gangjee to win by two strokes after signing for a one under par final round of 71 to go with rounds of 68-65-68 and a 16 under par total. The 24-year-old secures a maiden Challenge Tour title and a first as a professional, finishing two shots clear of Gangjee and Englishman David Horsey who shared second on 14 under par. Neergaard-Petersen was delighted to pick up a first win having turned professional less than 12 months ago. “It feels incredible,” he said. “I’ve been professional for nine months, so to get a win, especially so early in the season, is huge. “It was a big test out there today. Rahil played great. He kept bouncing back and he gave me a tough run in. I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet, but for now, I’m just really happy.” Neergaard-Petersen started the day four strokes clear and had extended that to five strokes by the eighth hole. However, after back-to-back gains by playing partner Gangjee at the ninth and tenth holes, and when Neergaard-Petersen double-bogeyed the 12th, the Dane’s lead had been cut to one. Neergaard-Petersen responded with birdies at the 13th and 14th to move clear once again, and despite a late birdie from Gangjee, he would hold on for a memorable victory. “Going into the final round with a four shot lead, I knew it was going to be difficult at some point, and it came at the 12th hole,” he added. “At that point I really had to tell myself to make good decisions. “I told myself that I’d been playing well the last couple of holes and over the last few days, and just to trust my game. From there I bounced back after the double bogey with two straight birdies. I’m delighted.” Frenchman Alexander Levy finished in fourth place on 11 under par, with Sweden’s Mikael Lindberg and Kristoffer Broberg, and India’s Veer Ahlawat sharing fifth place on 10 under par. Angad Cheema and Om Prakash Chouhan from India, and Dutchman Wil Besseling finished one shot further back in eighth. A third place finish this week sees Lindberg move to the top of the Road to Mallorca Rankings with Neergaard-Petersen climbing 29 places into second. Welshman Rhys Enoch is third, last week’s Delhi Challenge winner John Parry drops to fourth, and Frenchman David Ravetto completes the top five. The Road to Mallorca takes a three week break before returning for the Abu Dhabi Challenge at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club in Abu Dhabi from April 18-21. Scores after round four: 272 R NEERGAARD-PETERSEN (DEN) 68 65 68 71, 274 D HORSEY (ENG) 69 71 67 67, R GANGJEE (IND) 70 68 67 69, 277 A LEVY (FRA) 70 69 68 70, 278 K BROBERG (SWE) 70 72 67 69, V AHLAWAT (IND) 67 70 70 71, M LINDBERG (SWE) 70 69 66 73, 279 W BESSELING (NED) 68 69 72 70, O CHOUHAN (IND) 72 69 68 70, A CHEEMA (IND) 70 70 67 72, 280 J LAGERGREN (SWE) 72 69 70 69, D YOUNG (SCO) 69 66 72 73, 281 R KARLBERG (SWE) 70 72 68 71, D SHEORAN (IND) 69 69 70 73, T PULKKANEN (FIN) 70 70 66 75, 282 L CIANCHETTI (ITA) 73 67 73 69, A SHARMA (IND) 68 73 67 74, G HURLEY (IRL) 72 68 76 66, 283 J SENIOR (ENG) 73 68 71 71, J RUTHERFORD (ENG) 69 71 72 71, A BEDI (IND) 70 72 70 71, L BJERREGAARD (DEN) 70 71 70 72, P KATICH (GER) 73 68 70 72, Y CHANDRA MS (IND) 71 69 71 72, C LINDH (SWE) 68 70 72 73, 284 S BROWN (ENG) 70 70 72 72, M SANJU (IND) 69 70 72 73, K PRATAP SINGH (IND) 69 73 71 71, P PINEAU (FRA) 70 69 72 73, G BRIXI (CZE) 70 72 69 73, S BAISOYA (IND) 69 71 74 70, M GANDAS (IND) 72 68 70 74, S TALWAR (IND) 71 71 73 69, A WILSON (ENG) 68 70 77 69, 285 A PRASAD (IND) 69 72 71 73, A RAJ (IND) 70 70 74 71, J PARRY (ENG) 68 70 72 75, 286 B HEBERT (FRA) 69 71 72 74, J ZUSKA (CZE) 69 71 72 74, S DWIVEDI (IND) 70 71 72 73, U MANE (IND) 67 71 76 72, H HOPEWELL (AUS) 70 71 74 71, S BISHNOI (IND) 70 70 69 77, 287 N VON DELLINGSHAUSEN (GER) 73 68 71 75, A CHESTERS (ENG) 71 69 72 75, R MCEVOY (ENG) 71 71 72 73, J HOSSAIN (BAN) 70 68 69 80, 288 S DAS (IND) 73 68 73 74, C PURCELL (IRL) 70 71 74 73, J SALE (FRA) 71 71 75 71, 289 M OSHRINE (USA) 68 72 72 77, R KHAN (IND) 72 70 71 76, H BAISOYA (IND) 71 70 74 74, M STEINLECHNER (AUT) 68 72 75 74, T GHAI (IND) 69 71 76 73, 290 A ZEMMER (ITA) 70 72 72 76, N KRISTENSEN (DEN) 69 71 68 82, G DE LEO (ITA) 71 71 74 74, G PORTEOUS (ENG) 71 71 75 73, 291 J GOUGH (ENG) 72 70 72 77, C HOWIE (SCO) 71 70 74 76, J ANDERSEN (DEN) 69 70 69 83, A ATWAL (IND) 70 72 74 75, 293 A ETCHENIQUE (FRA) 68 74 75 76, J SINGH SANDHU (IND) 70 72 75 76, 294 V CHOPRA (USA) 72 70 73 79, M AZHAR (IND) 70 72 77 75, ** 143 D BAJAJ (IND) 70 73, C KNIPES (ENG) 71 72, L KEUNEN (NED) 71 72, J DE BRUYN (GER) 71 72, G MASON (ENG) 72 71, J SAINZ (ESP) 69 74, P BOVARI (ITA) 73 70, C PAISLEY (ENG) 69 74, E WALKER (SCO) 72 71, B ROBINSON THOMPSON (ENG) 68 75, B HOSSAIN (BAN) 71 72, 144 A ROOPA ANAND (IND) 71 73, A PLANT (ENG) 72 72, J MOSCATEL (ESP) 74 70, Y SANDHU (IND) 73 71, G BHULLAR (IND) 75 69, M HAMMER (GER) 73 71, T GOUVEIA (POR) 69 75, K KOCHHAR (IND) 73 71, A PATEL (IND) 71 73, O FARR (WAL) 73 71, V PARIKH (IND) 72 72, A ALBERS (GER) 71 73, 145 C MCKINNEY (AUS) 76 69, M COUVRA (FRA) 75 70, S CHAWRASIA (IND) 74 71, K KUMAR (IND) 72 73, R SCIOT-SIEGRIST (FRA) 68 77, D FOOS (GER) 73 72, T CHINNAPPA (IND) 75 70, B BAWDEN (ENG) 73 72, 146 S HUTSBY (ENG) 74 72, J GRENVILLE-WOOD (UAE) 77 69, M DHARMA (IND) 74 72, S AHMED (IND) 73 73, J HENRY (SCO) 72 74, R KLEU (SUI) 73 73, G SINGH (IND) 74 72, R WATTEL (FRA) 73 73, L VACARISAS (ESP) 75 71, J ALLAN (ENG) 75 71, 147 G BOYD (ENG) 73 74, A SHARMA (IND) 74 73, B ?KESSON (SWE) 73 74, S BINU (IND) 76 71, B VIRTO (ESP) 75 72, S CHHIBBER (IND) 74 73, T VAHLENKAMP (GER) 71 76, V PASTOR (ESP) 76 71, M SIMONSEN (DEN) 72 75, T SHADBOLT (ENG) 76 71, K JOSHI (IND) 77 70, 148 C GUICHARD (FRA) 73 75, M GIBOUDOT (FRA) 73 75, O LINDELL (FIN) 74 74, C BRING (DEN) 77 71, F MORY (FRA) 75 73, H GANGWAR (IND) 74 74, A MAGUIRE (IRL) 74 74, H GUPTA (IND) 73 75, L VAN MEIJEL (NED) 75 73, M GRADECKI (POL) 73 75, K SHARMA (IND) 71 77, K ESTEVE RIGAILL (AND) 76 72, 149 Q VIDAL (ESP) 73 76, G BLOOR (ENG) 75 74, P SINGH GILL (IND) 77 72, R THOMPSON (ENG) 77 72, A CA?IZARES (ESP) 72 77, A LOHAN (IND) 74 75, L RUUSKA (FIN) 76 73, J MURPHY (IRL) 77 72, S SINGH SISODIA (IND) 76 73, R DHOLE PATIL (IND) 71 78, 150 J FREIBURGHAUS (SUI) 73 77, R ROUSSEL (FRA) 74 76, 151 M MADSEN (DEN) 75 76, T THURLOWAY (ENG) 76 75, S TAMANG (NEP) 77 74, A MALIK (IND) 74 77, 152 P L?NGFORS (SWE) 78 74, 153 K VAN DER WEELE (NED) 78 75, R KUMAR (IND) 76 77, H SETHIE (IND) 76 77, 154 C MUNIYAPPA (IND) 75 79, 155 V MADAPPA (IND) 79 76, 158 K KAUL (IND) 79 79, ** OUT M MUTHU R (IND) 77 RT, S CHIKKARANGAPPA (IND) 74 WD, |
| About the European Challenge TourSince its inception in 1989, the Challenge Tour has developed into a proven training ground, where the champions-in-waiting compete across the globe for a place on the DP World Tour, formerly the European Tour.Many players who have progressed from the Challenge Tour have gone on to become Major Champions – including Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick – and Ryder Cup stars, such as Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre.Using its vast international schedule and relationships with golf federations and PGAs, the Challenge Tour is widely accessible to professionals from across the globe, giving players from developing golfing nations the opportunity to test their skill amongst some of the most talented up and coming stars in world golf. About the European Tour group The European Tour group is the overarching corporate brand which administers four competition brands: the DP World Tour, the Challenge Tour, the Legends Tour and, along with the PGA of America, is the Managing Partner of golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup. Established in 1972, the European Tour group is committed to ‘Driving Golf Further’ through our guiding principles of being innovative, inclusive and global. Innovative: We are driving innovation in golf through the creation of award-winning content, pioneering tournament formats and the use of the latest technology and inventive fan engagement. We are committed to attracting new audiences whilst respecting the tradition of our sport. Inclusive: We are committed to include all who share a love for the game of golf. We are passionate about a closer collaboration with the women’s game, golf for the disabled and promoting the many physical and mental health benefits of playing golf. Global: Since 1972, players from 38 different countries have won tournaments on our main Tour, while our live broadcast reaches more than 490 million homes in more than 150 countries every week, generating in excess of 2,200 global broadcast hours for each event. We also enjoy the support of many of the world’s leading business brands with DP World, Rolex, BMW, Emirates, Fortinet, Hilton and Zoom as Official Partners. The European Tour group has Strategic Alliances with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour and ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, while we ensure we have a positive long-term impact on the courses, countries and the communities we visit through ‘Golf for Good’, the umbrella name for the European Tour group’s commitment to ‘Driving Golf Further’ in an environmentally and socially sustainable way. |
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